Baby Boom
by PaulaGay
Summary: It's five years later and things have somewhat settled down in the Seireitei. It's Springtime and the hard won peace is about to be shattered in the most delightful way! Sequel to The Mating Game.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Baby Boom**

**Rating: M for mature content**

**Disclaimer: I wish I did, but I don't!**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Renji was in a grumpy mood. There was no better way to describe it. Rukia had finally deemed him unfit to be around 'the little dears,' and he had been sent out behind the 78th District Children's Home to chop down some dead wood…and hopefully let off some steam. He had stripped from the waist up, leaving on only his hakama and was swinging the ax with relish.

When Rukia finally stepped out to see how he was doing, all she could see were wood chips flying in every direction. "Renji, you baka! Be careful before you accidentally put out an eye!" she yelled over the methodical thump of metal against wood. "What's wrong with you anyway?" she asked as he slowed to a stop and wiped his face.

"What do you mean? I'm fine," he glared at his friend as he silently dared her to continue.

Of course she ignored his obvious warning, "Oh, really? You've been stalking around all day like a bear with a toothache. It's getting old and you're scaring the kids!" she finished with her personal trump card. She knew how much her red headed friend loved the younger children here. He'd never want to intimidate them.

She was right and he deflated almost instantly, slumping and sitting on a nearby stump. "Ok, fine…so I'm not in a good mood," he looked up at her with one last glare. "Happy now?"

Rukia sighed and sat down on the ground nearby, "Just tell me what's eating you."

"It's Ichi—," he began but was interrupted.

"Are you guys alright!?" she hopped up to stand in front of him, hands on her hips. "What did you do?"

He waved her off with a glare, "What d'you mean what did I do? **We're **fine… It's just that Ichigo had to attend a council meeting."

She suddenly understood, "So that's it," and she sat back down. "Are they still pushing for an heir?"

Renji ran a hand down his face as he groaned, "Oh, yeah."

"You'd think that after their last lame brain attempt they'd have learned their lesson," Rukia chuckled.

"You only think it's funny 'cause it's never happened to you," Renji sat up straight, affronted by her giggles. "It took three days for that shit to wear off! It wasn't fun."

Rukia cast him an 'Oh please,' look, "Don't try to tell me it was such a hardship for you. I don't buy it."

"Well yeah, sure the sex was good, but after that wore off he had almost a week of side effects before the drug was finally out of his system. I don't want to see anyone go through that again!"

She frowned, "Was it really that bad?"

Renji nodded, "The damn fertility drug they spiked his coffee with had some nasty side effects. It mimicked food poisoning, so he spent most of that week in the bathroom, puking his guts out. About the time we thought he was past the worst, it would hit him again. I tell ya Rukia, if I ever find out who slipped him that mickey, I'll kick his ass!"

* * *

"…So to summarize, we've decided to re-install the policing units into the lower districts of the Rukongai first," Ichigo finished his summation of the last item on the agenda with a smile. This was the kind of work he relished… striving to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

He sat down and was beginning to relax when one of the elder councilors, Fumio Shiba, spoke up. "Before we adjourn, Ichigo-sama, I would like to address an ongoing issue with the Council."

The younger man groaned inwardly, he knew what was coming. Fumio was the prime instigator in his earlier drugging incident. The old man was determined to force the issue of the line of succession and he was getting both impatient and creative.

"You have the floor, Fumio," Ichigo motioned for him to proceed. He'd made up his mind how he would handle this cranky councilman the next time this came up and was biding his time before he lowered the boom on the old man.

Fumio glared at the young head of the clan. He couldn't get past Ichigo's lack of respect. The problem was that over the past four years, Ichigo had lost all respect for the older man and refused to pretend otherwise. Fumio had to admit, although reluctantly, that his last plan had been a dismal failure. And since he'd been found out, he couldn't complain anymore about the boy's informality.

He made an impressive picture as he stood up. He was one of the eldest on the council and although his hair was gray, it was hard to tell his age otherwise. He stood straight and tall at six feet and moved like a much younger man. He had clear green eyes and the only wrinkles were the laugh lines around his eyes and mouth. Ichigo hoped he looked half as good at his age…whatever that was, the man himself refused to say. Fumio cleared his throat, "As you are well aware, Ichigo-**sama,**" he stressed the honorific, "there has been some concern as to the succession." This brought a few quiet murmurs from some of the councilors and groans from a few more. "We are awaiting the time when you secure our line with an heir, and some of us are becoming quite exasperated."

Ichigo nodded as the old man sat down. He brought out the paperwork he'd had drawn up since the drugging fiasco as he stood. "I am quite well-aware of some of the council's impatience. Unohana-taicho was more than forthcoming on the lengths to which you want me to conceive an heir." He handed the first document to the Head Councilor, Kaede Shiba.

As he handed her the corroborating evidence as to who had masterminded the incident he continued, "I thought that after that blew up you might back off a bit Fumio, but I see that isn't going to be the case.

"After the council examines the documents presented, I would like to ask them to seriously consider the removal of Councilor Fumio from this governing body." He sat down with a sigh as the documents were passed around, along with more than a few exclamations of surprise. He hadn't wanted to do this but he really had had enough.

Fumio was loudly protesting but too noble to act out in any other way and when the Head Councilor asked for his side of the story, he shut up and refused to say anything else. Ichigo had to respect the fact that the man didn't try to lie his way out or throw anyone else under the bus.

The vote came quickly and surely and as the former councilor was led out of the room, the young man stood again, garnering the others attention. "I want everyone here to realize that I did not want to do that. I do understand his, and some others frustration and impatience. My father blew off his duties to the clan to protect the one who was closest to his heart. It's understandable that you might think that I'll do the same.

"However, I am **not** my father and have never taken my responsibilities lightly. Read over recent Soul Society history if you've forgotten. And the one closest to **my** heart is here, not in the World of the Living. I have no reason to willingly abandon my clan."

He took a deep breath before continuing, "Even though I understand some of the council's worries I cannot condone the machinations of certain members. Fumio was essentially the fall guy for a group of three…and even if I couldn't prove it, I have my eyes on you two so cut out the crap!" Heads turned to the other two suspects who had the grace to look embarrassed.

"If the council believes that I am incapable of handling the Clan Head's duties, I will be more than happy to step aside," this garnered rather loud protests. He continued before anyone could interrupt, "However I will no longer allow you guys to push me around regarding whether or not I have a child! If this continues I **will** step aside and at that point I'll wash my hands of the lot of you."

He smiled rather grimly at the very loud protests. He knew **that** would get their attention! He was a very well-liked and respected clan head and his council did not want to lose him. "It's ridiculous that we even have to have this conversation," he concluded. "The Kuchiki clan head is only now beginning to catch some flak about his childlessness and he's just over three hundred. The Shihoin head is even older and hasn't received this kind of attention. I'm only twenty-five for crying out loud! Back. Off. This is the **last** time I want to hear of this," he sat down.

Kaede cleared her throat in the dead silence that followed. "Thank you Ichigo-sama. If that is all, this meeting is adjourned. We will accept nominations to replace Councilor Fumio at our next regular meeting." She and Ichigo remained seated as the rest of the council filed out.

"So how did I do?" the orange head asked with a grim smile after the last member left.

"You did very well my dear," she smiled back. Ichigo could tell that at one time she'd been a beauty. Her hair was white now but just as thick as it had always been. She had very kind warm butterscotch brown eyes that always seemed to be smiling…except when she was handing someone their ass. The young man knew **that **for a fact as he had been on the receiving end more times than he cared to remember. She moved with a grace that rivaled any of the younger noblewomen and could out shunpo him when necessary. "Now that you've let them know you won't be manipulated, they should back down."

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I hope—," he cut off as a hell butterfly flew in and landed on his extended finger. After hearing its message, his eyes flew to meet the Head Councilor's, "I have to go!" Before he could take even one step she grabbed him into a quick hug.

"Have a good day dear."

"Thanks, I love you Baa-chan."

* * *

Rose heard Ichigo coming long before he saw him. He was pleased when he noted the time. It meant that he'd won the bet he had with Shinji on who would be the first to arrive. He turned as the door slammed open and their youngest member flew in. Rose grinned when he noticed Izuru hovering in the doorway. "It's alright Izuru, he smiled as he stood and firmly shut the door in his fukutaicho's worried face. Ichigo was practically bouncing, he was so anxious.

"So? How did you do it?" were his first words.

"Ichigo, you'll have to be more specific. I believe you are quite aware of the mechanics of **how** someone becomes pregnant?" His smile widened as he sat down and motioned for the younger man to do so as well. "If not, your father has failed you miserably," he finished drily.

The younger man blushed as he sat down, "You know that's not what I meant." He leaned forward, "You're the first…so how'd you do it?"

Rose turned serious as he settled more comfortably in his chair, "The whole thing was so simple it's amazing no one thought of it earlier." He paused, "Well the concept is simple. The execution…wasn't."

When it looked like he wasn't going to continue, Ichigo asked, "Once you figured out whatever it was, how long did it take for you to conceive?"

The blonde Taicho smiled again, "A year."

* * *

Renji saw Rukia home later that day, but before he could leave, her brother appeared. "I am glad that I caught you, Renji," he began as he motioned the red head toward the garden. "I want to speak to you regarding Ichigo."

Renji settled himself at a small wrought iron table positioned near the koi pond as Byakuya sent a servant for tea and then joined him. The red head didn't think this boded well and he hoped his young lover hadn't angered the noble too much. "What's he done now?" he asked drily as Byakuya sat across from him.

The brunette quirked an eyebrow and gave what he considered to be a smile, "This has nothing to do with work. I have some concerns…for the both of you, now that he heads his clan. The council has been…difficult?"

Renji groaned at that question, "God's yes!" About then their tea arrived and once they were served he continued, "They've been way too interested in our private business." Byakuya nodded as he continued, "Ichigo works well with the council members and I believe he's popular with them. You know…respected. It's just on the issue of an heir that they get so thoroughly unreasonable."

The older man looked as if his suspicions had been confirmed. "It's because of his father's actions. Otherwise I don't believe they would be acting this way. The Shiba were a respected clan until Isshin abandoned them. With no suitable heir to take over, they fell. It is logical that they don't want that to happen again."

Renji was nodding in agreement, "True. However they're driving us nuts."

His former Taicho sipped his tea as he considered his next statement, "I believe it would be a good idea for you two to consider marrying."

At this Renji almost choked on his tea, "Tai—Byakuya, I can't believe you just said that!"

"I know, and I do not mean to pry, but there have been some indications that his council is seeking to force a marriage on him."

"Ya mean with a noble woman?" At Byakuya's nod he continued, "Well it won't do any good. There's no woman in any world that Ichigo would want that way." He paused as he re-thought that statement, "Well, maybe Hallibel, but I can't see them approving **that** union either. Anyway once we mated, that was it. He can't be with anyone but me."

The raven head noted with amusement how proud his former Fukutaicho sounded. He responded, "Since that is the case, make it officially binding. It **has** been five years…don't you think it's time?"

Renji scratched the back of his head, "You know it has come up a few times, but we've both been so busy, it never seemed the right time."

"Don't let him be stolen from you Renji," Byakuya frowned. "No one who cares about you two wants to see that."

"It seems kinda odd, you coming to me about this," Renji chuckled. "Did Rukia talk ya into it?"

"No. Your mate's council did when they approached me about a union between our clans. They thought Rukia would make an excellent wife for Ichigo." Before Renji could do more than splutter he continued, "Of course I turned them down. Rukia has made her own choice and it has nothing to do with my fukutaicho."

"Well yeah, she and Hanataro are pretty well on their way to the altar."

"Exactly. However that is why we are having this conversation now. Rukia considers you two to be family and as time has passed, I've grown to feel the same way." He looked very seriously at the red head, "I want my family to be happy with their chosen mates. Renji do not wait too long."

* * *

**A/N: Here we go again! Chapter 1 of the sequel to "The Mating Game" is up and running!^^**

**I am using the term Baa-chan as a nickname for Ichigo's grandmother; yes, I've given Isshin a mom. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Renji took the long way home from the Kuchiki Manor in order to think over what Byakuya had brought up. He wasn't surprised by what he had said. Renji personally felt that the older councilors were nothing but a bunch of nosy old biddy's.

He kicked a rock off the path as he considered his options. He needed to talk to his mate about the newest plot the oldsters had cooked up and the two had to have a serious conversation about marriage. Every time the subject was brought up Ichigo steered clear of it. Renji had always chalked it up to the fact that he had so much to learn and was so young. He had felt there wasn't a rush and they had time. However, now he wasn't so sure and he figured it was time to push for a further commitment from his mate. A public and legal commitment that no one could play around with was the only way he could see to get the councilors off their backs.

By the time he reached his home he had a rough game plan worked out about how to approach the subject. Then when he opened the door, said plan evaporated as his mouth fell open in surprise. Ichigo had learned early on in their relationship that Renji was a sucker for a bit of romance. Low lights and soft music could always turn the older man into a puddle of goo that would say yes to just about anything his younger lover wanted.

The orange head obviously wanted something big and he had pulled out all the stops. The lights were turned down and a soft guitar instrumental was playing in the background. The dinner table was set for two with candles lit. As Renji took in the main living area he saw flower arrangements and more candles lit. it was an incredibly romantic setting that had a shiver running down his spine as he took it all in.

Then the icing on his cake walked into the room with a wine bottle and two glasses, sending the red head into romance overload. Ichigo was wearing a light summer yukata of deep royal blue with gold thread shot through in a somewhat random design. It was his favorite piece of more traditional clothing and had been a gift from Renji on their first anniversary.

"It's about time you showed up, Ren," Ichigo grinned as he set the glasses down and poured the wine into them. "I was beginning to worry that dinner wouldn't make it."

Renji silently walked up behind the younger man and wrapped his arms around the slim waist presented to him. Ichigo almost spilt the wine when he felt the red head nuzzle his ear. "Whoa there...I have something I need to tell you," Ichigo said as he turned around and handed his mate one of the glasses and led him over to the sofa to sit.

"Ok," was all Renji could manage as he joined Ichigo on the couch and the younger man cuddled in next to him. "What is it?" he asked when it looked like the orange head wasn't going to say anything else.

His lover looked up at Renji, "Rose is pregnant."

The significance wasn't lost on the older man as he sat straight up and faced Ichigo excitedly, "How?"

Ichigo leaned back and laughed, "That's what I asked him and he got all ambiguous on me." He linked his hand with his mates, "He finally spelled it out for me. It's a pretty simple concept but I have no idea how we're supposed to do it." He turned serious as he placed his empty wine glass on the low coffee table in font of them, "We have to get our zanpakuto to approve of us." At the confused look on Renji's face Ichigo nodded and continued, "I know. Zabimaru has to approve of me and Zangetsu needs to do the same with you. I talked to him earlier and he said that you had to come to him and basically ask for his approval. I don't know what that'll entail, but you have to enter my inner world and I suspect I'll have to enter yours and talk to Zabimaru."

Renji sat silent as Ichigo went to refill their glasses. His unspoken question was promptly answered, "He's right. He'll have to meet us here just as you will there. And we can guarantee that we won't be doing needlepoint!"

"Zabimaru just confirmed it," he said as Ichigo sat back down. "You better expect a fight of some sort."

The younger man nodded, "That's what I figured. Zangetsu said that each zanpakuto sets their own criteria for approval. Rose wouldn't tell me what he and Love had to go through, but he did say it was easier said than done."

They both relaxed on the sofa for a bit, silently enjoying each others company. Finally Renji groaned and asked, "How're we supposed to do that?"

"Beats me," was the **very** unsatisfactory answer.

* * *

After both men realized they hadn't a clue as to how to achieve what they wanted, they proceeded to have dinner as Renji filled Ichigo in on his conversation with Byakuya.

"Those assholes! I knew they were up to something," Ichigo fumed as he threw his napkin onto the table in disgust and shook his head. "I suppose I did the right hing then," he sighed and told Renji the outcome of his most recent council meeting.

"Good! I'm glad the bastard's gone," was Renji's assessment.

"And **maybe** the other two will back off now," Ichigo agreed.

"Yeah, well...I'm not so sure about that," the red head growled at his plate. He looked up to see Ichigo gazing out the window, deep in thought. "Ichi," the orange head turned to look at him with a small smile, "I know we said we wouldn't do anything reactive to all your council's manipulations, but now that we know it's possible for us to have a family, don't you think we should consider marriage?"

Ichigo's smile turned into a smirk as he braced his head against his fist, "Ren, that has got to be the least romantic marriage proposal, ever."

Renji blushed, "It's not like I haven't asked before ya know!"

The younger man's expression softened, "I know. I've never felt ready before. I'm not sure I am now. As far as I'm concerned, we're already married. It happened five years ago. Why is it necessary to stand up in front of everyone to say so?"

The red head reached across the small table to caress his lover's cheek, "I get it, I feel the same...but we really need to make it official."

Ichigo pressed his cheek into the soft touch, "Did you come home prepared to propose properly?" he teased. He had to work not to crack up at the blank look on his lover's face. "Renji do some research and ask again once you're ready," he rose from the table and pulled the bigger man up from his seat. "For now, let's go to bed," he said with an avidly seductive look on his face.

"What about the dish-" the rest of what Renji was about to say was swallowed by soft lips.

"Being a clan head has some perks you know," was the quiet answer as the younger man guided them both to the bedroom.

Renji didn't need any other encouragement. By the time the door had closed, he had Ichigo pressed up against the nearest wall as he let his hands roam down his lover's body. Even after five years, the two men still acted like newlyweds who couldn't keep their hands off of each other. Ichigo was doing much the same and stripping Renji as he went. By the time the two made it to the bed, both yukata and shihakusho had been thrown off. Renji still barely had on his hakama but they were beginning to slip under his lover's nimble fingers. As they made themselves comfortable with Ichigo lounging over the top of the bigger man, their tongues continued to tangle in a playful battle, neither man caring who might win.

Renji enjoyed the times when Ichigo took the lead in their lovemaking and tonight was no different when the younger man raised up on his knees straddling the red head. Ichigo's eyes had taken on a predatory gleam as he gazed at the man laid out underneath him.

And Renji was a sight to behold: His eyes at half-mast and lust-filled, his hair down and fanned out across the pillow, tattoos blazing across glistening skin. Ichigo couldn't help himself, he needed to taste his lover, so he bent down and began to lick a trail along Renji's tattoos, following them down his body until they ended at his hips. The red head groaned when Ichigo paused above his alert member. He was twitching in anticipation of what was to come. He neither knew nor cared who would enter whom...but he wanted the velvety heat of his lover's mouth wrapped around himself, and he wanted it now!

Ichigo grinned as he glanced up and saw that need mirrored on the older man's face. Renji's hands moved from his hips to his shoulders, telling his lover without words what he wanted and Ichigo didn't fail him. Making sure he had Renji's attention, he slowly licked his lips and then took his lover into his mouth. It continuously amazed Renji just how much the younger man seemed to enjoy this. He would look at Renji's manhood as a starving man looked at a five star banquet. He would lick his lips – always, and then slowly engulf him, closing his eyes as if this was the best thing in the world. And then as he reached the base, he would sigh. It never failed to send Renji tumbling towards the edge of bliss. Tonight was no different. Ichigo had the older man arching off the bed in no time, moaning wantonly all the while.

There were two things Ichigo especially enjoyed when they made love: He loved watching his lover come unglued and he loved surprising him. Tonight he was able to have both. While he was sucking off the red head, he'd been prepping himself so while Renji was preoccupied with the wonderful sensations he was feeling, Ichigo quickly rose off him and swiftly impaled himself on Renji's pulsing member. Both men stilled – Renji in shock and Ichigo in pleasure.

For Ichigo there was no better feeling than that of being filled by his man. He couldn't describe how satisfying it was for him. In that moment he was complete...one with his other half. Of course it felt pretty damn good when they began to move too!

Renji grabbed Ichigo's hips and answered his movements with thrusts of his own. Ichigo threw his head back, eyes closed as he rode the older man. His climax was beginning to build. It didn't take long before he was coming with a shout, his seed spraying between them. With a couple more upward thrusts, Renji filled his lover who impaled himself one more time in order to feel the heated stream filling him up. For Ichigo it was almost as pleasurable for him to feel Renji come as it was when he released.

With a mutual groan both men wrapped their arms around each other and sank down onto the bed. Before either realized, they'd fallen asleep; their bodies still joined.

* * *

"...chigo...Ichigo...**Ichigo**! Wake up!" the orange head heard as he was startled awake.

"Wha – Where am I?" he asked as he tried to see where he was. He was surrounded by pitch blackness, unable to see anything. He looked down and noticed he was dressed in his shihakusho. "Who are you?" he asked as he stood. The voice seemed oddly familiar yet he couldn't place it. It had an odd stereo quality to it that niggled at Ichigo's memory.

"I'm not surprised you don't remember us," came the deep voiced response. "I believe you've only seen us once."

"Will you show yourself to me?" Ichigo asked. The voice didn't belong to an enemy, he was certain. The situation might be weird but he wasn't afraid of the being with him.

"Of coursssse we will," came a sibilant second voice as a light began to gather in front of him. The shape that slowly formed within the light took the shape of a nue. It was a very familiar nue.

"Zabimaru!" the young man grinned once he recognized Renji's zanpakuto spirit.

"It'ssss good to seee you again, boy," the snake hissed at him in amusement. "It'sss about time."

"About time? What do you mean?"

"We have been waiting five years for this conversation, Ichigo. What took you so long?" the baboon asked.

"I don't know," Ichigo answered. "Neither of us knew we needed to connect to each other's zanpakuto."

"It's not exactly that you have to connect with us," it seemed the baboon was going to be the spokesman for the two. "You have to convince us of your seriousness in having a relationship with Renji. Then you have to prove to us your worthiness and win our approval. Once that's done all that's left is connecting your inner worlds so they become one. In other words, your souls must be bound together."

Ichigo decided he needed to sit back down. Zabimaru joined him. "That sounds intense."

"It will be but the final step will be the worst part. It isn't easy and very few mates ever achieve that kind of connection. You being a Visored is what makes bringing this to the next level necessary. You two **have** to be bound like this in order for your hollow to feel secure."

Ichigo frowned. He didn't quite understand and said as much. Zabimaru chuckled, "Your hollow is what makes you a Beta...a submissive. The last step will require your Alpha, Renji, to prove that he can handle him...control him. So if you should lose control and run amok he'll be able to stop you. It will also convince the hollow that Renji'll be able to protect you (and him) if it's ever necessary."

Ichigo nodded, "I can understand that. That's what I want in a mate as well. But I already have **that **with him."

The nue shook his head, "Not completely. You may be mated, but you're not bound. That's the final step in the mating ritual you two began five years ago. We believe you're now ready to complete it."

The young man felt a huge surge of relief, "So what happens next?"

Zabimaru stood, "We already know how serious you are, we've known that for years. Now we want you to prove to us that you're worthy."

* * *

Renji felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake. When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in bed with Ichigo. And he was fully dressed in his shihakusho minus the haori. He quickly sat up, trying to take in his surroundings. There was nothing to see. He was in a darkened space with a man dressed in black and standing in front of him. The red head recognized him almost immediately.

"Hey Zangetsu, 'sup?" he grinned and crossed his legs into a more comfortable position.

The older looking man smiled, "It is good that you remember me."

"Yeah well, it's been a while." He gestured around himself, "Where are we?"

Zangetsu looked around and then back at Renji "The best answer I can give is that we are in the space between the worlds." At Renji's frown he tried again, "We are between your and Ichigo's inner worlds."

At that Renji hopped up and slowly turned around, "So how do we enter each others world?"

Zangetsu let him explore for a moment and then he asked, "You do realize that we have to approve of you first?"

"Renji turned back sharply, "We?"

The brunette nodded, "The two of us that make up Ichigo's zanpakuto power, myself..."

"And me," came an eerily similar voice, very much like Ichigo's and a cackle not at all like his lovers. A white figure joined the two. Renji had never seen anything like him. He looked just like Ichigo but all white: White skin, hair, and shihakusho. Only his eyes held a bit of color. Those were the eyes Ichigo had when he hollowfied: Black and gold.

"So you're his hollow powers," he stated and Ichigo's 'twin' nodded.

"You're not as dumb as I thought," he grinned and gave that insane cackle again.

Renji glared, "I thought Ichigo had gained control of you."

The hollow glared back, "Don't get ahead of yourself, Pineapple! He has. Ichigo is the King of our world, you have nothing to worry about there." His grin grew maniacal, "I'm only here to make sure you're worthy to be our King's consort."

"Consort? You do know I am the Alpha in our relationship, right?" Renji smirked at the suddenly pissed off hollow. "And since you're his hollow powers, I'm assuming you're the reason he's a Beta and we're doing this?"

"You are correct, Renji," Zangetsu answered for the livid creature in front of them. "Satisfy him and you will be able to move on to finish the ritual."

"Ritual?" the red head asked as the hollow yelled for the brunette to shut up.

"The mating ritual was begun but not completed five years ago. You are now approaching the final step. Successfully force this hollow into submission and make him acknowledge you as worthy. Then you and Ichigo will be able to combine your inner worlds."

"And when we do?"

"When ya do you won't be shootin' blanks anymore," the hollow answered gleefully.

* * *

Ichigo panted as he dodged yet another blow from the nue. 'Shit he's fast!' he rolled to the side and sprang back onto his feet. The two were fighting hand-to-hand instead of with weapons. They had both felt it was fair since neither wanted to kill each other.

The younger man circled, looking for an opening. There weren't many. Zabimaru was just as adept at street fighting as Ichigo was. It made sense considering Renji had grown up as a street rat in Inuzuri.

Suddenly Zabimaru lunged forward, teeth bared. Ichigo ducked and kicked out, knocking the nue to the ground. The orange head flipped back onto his feet just missing the snake as it tried to wrap itself around his legs. They circled each other again. The nue grunted, "This is fun! After this is finished we should try regular sparring."

Ichigo grinned, "Any time monkey, anytime!" He quickly threw himself at Zabimaru and tossed the nue over his shoulder. As they came down, the zanpakuto spirit landed on his back with his snake tail trapped beneath him and Ichigo pinning him from the top. "Do you yield? Am I worthy of him?" he panted.

He heard duel sighs and as everything began to fade, he heard in stereo, "Yes. He's going to have a rough time next cycle," and a twin chuckle of amusement.

* * *

As Renji stood up he asked the hollow, "So how do ya want to do this? Do you want me to fight ya or fuck ya into submission?"

Zangetsu's eyebrows went up as he gave an involuntary smirk and eyed his counterpart. The hollow was so pissed, he was speechless. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, he settled on snarling and rushing to tackle the red head.

Renji grinned and side stepped as the hollow rushed him, kicking him in the derriere as he passed and sending him tumbling. "Fighting it is then," Renji chuckled as the white version of Ichigo sprang up glaring at him.

"You bet your ass it's fighting!" the hollow growled as he began to eye the red head for openings.

"So Zangetsu, is he the only one I have to fight, or will you go a round with me too?" Renji grinned as he ducked out of the hollow's way and knocked him to the ground.

"At this time I will forgo the pleasure of a spar with you, Abarai. You already have my approval," he stated with another small smile.

The red head smirked, his focus completely on the hollow, "Thanks for that. We'll have ta do it some other time then."

Zangetsu grunted as he continued to watch the other two. He found Renji's approach interesting. The red head would taunt the hollow, with either words or actions, until the albino was so infuriated he'd make a careless mistake and then Renji would put him down. The hollow was actually beginning to tire while the shinigami was still grinning and seemingly having fun. The more he saw of this man, the more certain he became that Ichigo had chosen well. No, not just well...perfectly.

Zangetsu saw a subtle shift in the red head's stance and knew the end was near. The hollow was howling in rage and Renji was grinning fiercely. When the hollow rushed forward, Renji grabbed him one-handed by the throat and with a kick, put him down flat on his back, pinning his arms with his knees.

The hollow tried to throw the bigger man off but Renji wasn't budging. He gripped the hollow by his throat with one hand and with his other buried into white hair to hold his head still, he leaned forward and said, "That will do, yield." When the hollow continued to squirm Renji asked, "Do you yield to me or will I have to fuck you into submission?" The hollow's eyes widened when he realized the red head was serious and the fight suddenly left him.

He relaxed beneath Renji and laughed defiantly, "Nah, that won't be necessary. You're King's consort... And frankly you're not really my type." He began to disappear as he continued, "But don't think you'll have it so easy when you square off with Ichigo..." and his voice faded away.

Renji looked sharply at Zangetsu, "What's he mean?"

"During Ichigo's next cycle you two will finish the ritual. It will be very different from his usual cycle. You both will be pushed into heat and rut on an instinctive level. The level of hollows in heat. Since Ichigo is not a normally submissive person, he will fight your advances," the zanpakuto spirit explained. "When he finally accepts you, that is when your two worlds will join."

"And when that happens..." Renji paused.

"You will be able to create a family together," Zangetsu finished for him.

* * *

Both men awoke with identical groans. As they shifted to lie back on the bed Ichigo looked at Renji, "I met Zabimaru."

"Yeah, I met Zangetsu." Renji slowly rolled onto his side to get a better look at the smaller man. "Do you hurt as bad as I do?"

"Probably." Ichigo began to rise, "I need a bath."

"Ok if I join ya?" the red head asked.

"Yep," the younger man smirked.

After they climbed into the shower and began to bathe, they brought each other up-to-date with what had happened.

"It's weird that all of a sudden everything is moving so quickly," Ichigo frowned. "Was figuring out what was needed all that was needed to move forward?"

Renji shook his head as he climbed out and grabbed a towel to dry off, "Beats me Ichi but at least things **are** moving forward." He threw another towel to his lover, "It's what we both wanted, right?"

"Of course it is, I just don't get it. After five years of nothing, we'll be able to start our own family in less than a month...just like that," he finished snapping his fingers together.

"Not 'just like that.' It'll still take some time to conceive and everything," Renji felt he had to caution his mate.

"You know what I mean Ren," Ichigo rolled his eyes and headed back to their bedroom. He stopped as he reached the bed, closing his eyes at the sudden rush of emotion. "In less than a month," he whispered trying hard to swallow around the sudden lump in his throat. He felt his lover's arms wrap around him; holding him securely against a firm chest. He felt Renji nuzzle his ear and he sighed again, "In less than a month."

"Yeah, in less than a month."

* * *

**A/N: This was a fun chappy to write although I'm not terribly good with fight sequences. ^^ I'd love it if you guys could tell me how I did?**

**Also just a warning; I probably won't be able to stick to my once a week schedule for this one. One, we're going into summer and my daughter tends to keep me busy and two, I'm currently writing two stories at the same time and am trying to keep current on them both.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was about two hours after Renji and Ichigo had drifted off into pleasant dreams that all hell broke loose. An alarm began sounding in the Seireitei that woke up everyone living within its walls.

"What the fuuuck!?" shouted Ichigo as he sat up and promptly fell out of the bed, tangled in the sheets. Renji was already standing with his zanpakuto drawn.

"Don't know, get up! We need to get to the North gate," was his only statement.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," came the grumbled response from the closet as Ichigo scrambled to get dressed.

They hurried over to the North gate just as a group of shinigami and regular souls entered the Seireitei. Kyouraku was in the lead shouting orders.

"Where's Squad Four? We have some injured people over here!" he yelled into the crowd. As the injured were handed off, Renji spotted Hisoka in the crowd.

"Hey Hisoka! What happened? Are the kids alright?" he hurried over to his friend with Ichigo not far behind. The orphanage director smiled at the two men as he handed over a couple of his children to them.

"There was a sneak attack on the Home," he answered the red head. "It was just luck that the Sotaicho and Ukitake-taicho were spending the night with us. All the children are fine, mostly just scratched up and scared."

"Thank the gods for that!" Ichigo sighed in relief as he snuggled a little dark haired boy to his chest. This one was one of his favorites. The child looked about four years old and had the deepest green eyes he'd ever seen. He didn't say much, just stared out at the world solemnly while sucking his thumb. Ichigo adored him although he tried hard not to play favorites with the children there. However there was something about this little one that tugged at his heart. "Come on Yuki let's take you to Aunt Retsu," this comment received a fierce but silent head shaking as the little boy burrowed into his uniform. Ichigo laughed, "Ok, how about Uncle Hanataro?" He saw Renji's fukutaicho hurriedly approaching and at the child's nod he waved the former healer over.

"Hanataro can you take him to Squad Four for me?" The other man saw the silent question to check the little boy out in Ichigo's expression and grinned.

"Of course Ichigo. Come on Yukishiro, let's go check out the Squad Four beds." His voice dropped to a confidential whisper, "We might even be able to get away with jumping on them!" This statement was received with approval after a moment's thought and Yuki changed caretakers quite willingly.

"Thanks," Ichigo grinned as he watched the shorter man head off with a small group of children surrounding him. Hanataro was such a quiet and gentle person, he was a natural favorite with the kids at the Home.

As the crowd began to dissipate, the younger men turned to Kyouraku and Ukitake. "What happened, Sotaicho?" Renji asked tersely, Ichigo frowning beside him.

For once Kyouraku looked deadly serious, "Captain's meeting in ten minutes, lieutenants too." he began sending butterflies to everyone as the other three headed for Squad One.

* * *

"First, I am sorry for the late hour, but I felt it was imperative to touch base with everyone," Kyouraku began. "You all know I'm as averse to these meetings as you are, so bear with me," he continued with a grin. He heard a snort from Zaraki and a sigh from Byakuya before he went on, "As most of you know, there was an incident in District Seventy-Eight about an hour ago. It was quite an organized attack of Hollows aimed solely on the Home. As you all know that's relatively unheard of...certainly against children."

"The children all have very strong reiatsu and we believe they've come to the attention of upper level Hollows who want their power," Ukitake took up the summation. "We do not believe that the current rulers of Hueco Mundo would try something like this, but that doesn't discount other Adjuchas or Vasto Lordes targeting them."

"Too right Tia wouldn't be involved," was Ichigo's quiet response. "She wouldn't target children, no matter how strong."

"And Grimmjow would have come himself," added Renji, amused. That received nods from several of the others. They had all come to know the two strongest Arrancar over the past few years and instinctively knew Ichigo and Renji were correct.

"What I don't understand, Sotaicho, is why call us out in the middle of the night?" Kurotshuchi's smarmy voice sounded through the hall. "It is hardly unusual for hollows to target those with high reiatsu...why make such a big deal out of it?"

The hall was silent as everyone waited for the Sotaicho to answer. Kurotshuchi was an insane ass that no one liked or particularly trusted but...he had a point. Kyouraku sighed, he had to be careful from now on.

"It's not just the fact that they only attacked the Children's Home. It was a lucky chance that we happened to be there. If we hadn't been, those children would have only been defended by one man and a teen aged boy. With a show of hands, how many of us are involved with that orphanage?" All hands rose but for the Twelfth Division's Taicho and Fukutaicho. "We aren't the only officers to take an interest in those kids. Several seated and unseated officers have approached me with the question of adoption. This attack could have almost been a declaration of war against the Seireitei since we are so involved. Until further notice, I expect this investigation to go forward with that in mind," he let out a silent sigh. That sounded better than he'd hoped.

Kurotshuchi rolled his eyes, "Fine, it is noted. Now may the two of us leave? There is a very important experiment I am conducting and I would like to get back to it...**if** you don't mind?"

Kyouraku narrowed his eyes at the mad scientist, "You may go." Everyone else stayed in place until after the door slammed shut behind the two Twelfth Division officers. All eyes then turned back to their leader.

"Alright, there was one more thing I believe everyone here should know. However I do not want one word to leave this building. Do I make myself clear?" he paused as everyone acknowledged his demand. "The other reason I called you all here is because I have a question: What do you think happened to the Arrancar we defeated during the Winter War?"

Almost everyone looked back at the man blankly, some seriously wondering if he'd gone loopy from too many decades of heavy drinking. Ichigo just nodded his head, as if a question had been answered.

"You noticed it too, Sotaicho?" he asked with a brow quirked at the older man in amusement.

Kyouraku nodded, "I fail to see the humor in this situation, Kurosaki-kun."

"Let me try to explain why I think this is funny. We are **Shinigami**. We hunt down and kill hollows. By killing them with our zanpakuto, we cleanse their souls which allows them to enter Soul Society. Forgive me if I find it funny that you're freaking out because that's what happened to our former enemies," he summed up with a smirk. When the other officers caught up with what the two men were talking about there were mutters throughout the hall.

"But Kurosaki-kun, that isn't what happens to Gillian, Adjuchas, or Vasto Lordes. It shouldn't have happened to the Arrancar," Ukitake answered. "At most, one soul might look a bit like a former high level hollow and another might share some similar personality traits, but none would have that massive reiatsu. A high level hollow wouldn't be completely intact. They would have split apart into their separate souls when they were cleansed. And that's if there were enough complete souls left to split apart; if not, the partial souls would just become the reishi that inundates this place.

"What we have here are children, **children** mind you, that have similar looks, personalities, and massive reiatsu still all in one package. What happens as they age? Will they remember their past? Do they now? At some point will they become our enemies again? Or will they degenerate into madness should they remember what they were and what they did?"

Ichigo turned serious as he thought through what Ukitake-taicho had said. "Who knows what happened once Aizen messed with them. Once the hogyoku was used, there's no telling what it might have done to them. It may also be a good idea to check with Hueco Mundo and see if they have any of Aizen's notes...or Szaelaporro's for that matter. Tia's group might know something too. It makes sense to check it out."

He then asked, "How did you two come to this conclusion?" All eyes turned back to the Sotaicho as he cleared his throat.

"We were there not only to visit, but to bring an Asauchi to Koyoute Sutāku. He has grown so much over the past five years and we knew it was about time for him to start imprinting a zanpakuto. During the fight, he was actually able to draw out it's shikai form...and it's name is Rosu Robosu." At Ichigo's blank look he explained, "I fought and defeated Starrk during the war and **his** zanpakuto was named Los Lobos."

The confusion on Ichigo's face cleared as he thought it through. He nodded in understanding, "I don't believe we have anything to worry about with these kids. Koyoute and Yuri were the first to show up. I haven't noticed any insanity or aggression from him, and he's physically the oldest of the group. Those traits would probably appear in him first. If the Arrancar were truly cleansed, and I don't see why not, then we need to treat those kids as we would any other soul here."

"I agree," the Sotaicho frowned as he thought through his options. "I also feel that we** should** send someone to Hueco Mundo," he finally stated, "and I don't want anyone to act differently to the children until we hear that report. Ichigo, I need you to head over there first thing in the morning."

"Sotaicho, it's already first thing in the morning," he grinned tiredly. "Of course I will."

Kyouraku's eyes twinkled, "Now that that is decided, you are all dismissed. Remember, not a word to **anyone** until we have all the facts."

A group of very tired officers shuffled out of the barracks in ones and twos. Ichigo and Renji were some of the last to leave.

"I guess you'll be headed over there shortly?" Renji asked his lover with a frown.

"Of course...but after breakfast and...a shower," Ichigo managed to say through a yawn.

"Try not to take too long. I wouldn't want you stuck there at the wrong time," the red head stated with a knowing look at the younger man.

"It shouldn't take more than a couple of days. I'm sorry for having to leave you with the kiddies," he added mischievously. Renji snorted.

"Just don't let the blue kitty cat get the drop on ya," was thrown back with a grin.

"As if! See you soon," Ichigo leaned up to give the big idiot a chaste kiss before he hurried off to find food. Renji stood for a moment watching his mate with a goofy grin plastered to his face. It was immediately wiped off when he heard a snort behind him. When he turned, he saw Rukia grinning evilly at him.

"What? Don't you kiss Hanataro goodbye when he heads off to work?" he snapped and then quickly ducked her punch. Unfortunately he didn't manage to dodge her kick. "Rukia, what the hell?" he moaned.

"I haven't had a **chance** to kiss Hanataro before work because we **aren't** married yet," she ground out through gritted teeth as she darted a glance at her brother who was standing close enough to hear the entire conversation.

Fortunately Renji caught the look and understood, "Ah, right." He decided it was in everyone's best interests to change the subject, "Erm, I could use some advice. I want to surprise Ichi and I think you could help me." Rukia was about to reject the request in a huff until she got a good look at her friend's expression. He was giving her puppy dog eyes but under his silliness she saw that he was serious so she punched him once on his arm and reluctantly agreed.

"Fine...but you have to buy me lunch. And it better be fantastic!" They agreed to meet up at noon and parted ways amicably enough.

* * *

Ichigo exited the Garganta right outside the current leader's main meeting hall. He had sent word ahead that he was coming and requested an audience with the Queen and her counselors. He quickly looked around and realized the area was empty. He promptly closed his eyes to reach out and find either Tia's or Grimmjow's reiatsu. Before he could pinpoint them, he heard a voice from the doorway behind him.

"So Shinigami, you decide to return for a rematch?" the growling baritone asked in amusement.

"Hell no, Grimm. Last time I nearly put you in the hospital ward. What's the good of that?" the orange head smirked as he turned to face his...friend? Ally? He still wasn't too sure.

"Bastard," the Arrancar hissed with no real venom as he walked past the younger man and led him towards the training grounds at the back of the compound. "So what brings you by?" he continued with curiosity. "Did ya finally kick that pineapple to the curb?"

"Of course not; and he says 'hi' too," he smirked up at his blue haired nemesis. He decided he liked that word best. It came closest to describing their relationship, 'Shit, I sound like a girl, even to myself! Relationship? Huh!'

"So why are ya here? Yer message didn't say much."

"I really want to talk to everyone together. It saves time. We have a...weird situation in the Seireitei at the moment and were hoping for some insight."

"From us!? Man you're really grasping here!" Grimmjow threw back his head and laughed.

Once he settled down to a few hiccups Ichigo continued, "I think you guys are perfect for this. It has to do with Aizen, the hogyoku, and Arrancar, and you are the closest we have to experts on those subjects."

"Crap, Ichigo, why dredge all that shit up again?" the blue haired devil groaned as he dragged a hand through his tousled hair.

"Trust me, if I didn't have to I wouldn't," the younger man sighed. He then saw the two women in the middle of the training area and he grinned. "How's Nel coming along?"

"Great! She's been such an asset, you wouldn't believe it!" the older man smirked as he watched Nel and Hallibel square off against each other.

"She has huh?" Ichigo didn't miss the soft look the former Sexta gave the green haired woman. He grinned, 'That's a look I never thought to see him make. It weirdly suits him.' "That's good to hear," he continued out loud. "Orihime wasn't sure she'd succeeded when she tried to heal her."

"It's taken some time, but she's back to what she used to be before Nnoitra sneak-attacked her," Grimmjow answered with a scowl as he remembered the lanky Arrancar's cowardly actions.

About then, the two women noticed the new arrival and with a cry of "Itsygo!" Nel threw aside her weapon and rushed the young man. Both men...hell, **everyone **knew better than to try and stop her so Ichigo just braced himself for the onslaught while Grimmjow stepped back. The younger man barely kept upright and hugged her back as she squealed her delight at seeing him.

"Nelliel, that's enough," Hallibel's sultry voice sounded as she walked up to the group. "If you don't let him go, you'll break something." Nel quickly let her friend go and gave him a chance to catch his breath. "Now, Ichigo, what did you need to see us about?" she continued as she directed everyone back inside.

Ichigo eyed her calmly as he asked, "What exactly happens to Arrancar after they die?"

* * *

Renji rolled his eyes as he waited for his best friend to quit laughing. When she began to quietly snort he knew she'd just about wound down enough to get a word in. "I'm so glad you find my situation so amusing!"

The two had met up for lunch as agreed and he'd proceeded to tell her about his last attempt to ask Ichigo to marry him. "What did he mean by research?" he finally asked impatiently.

Rukia finally sobered up and looked at Renji with a mixture of amusement and frustration, "Think about it, baka! Would you have liked to be proposed to like that?" She dropped her voice and mimicked, " 'Yeah since we're already together and people are being asses, let's get married!?' I wouldn't have told you to do research...I'd have drop-kicked your butt out of the bedroom for the night! No, make that for the week," she shook her head in disgust.

Her friend blushed, "So, what am I missing?"

"Have you even picked out a ring yet?"

"A ring?" he asked blankly.

Rukia looked at him with forced patience, "An. Engagement. Ring! Make that a month..." she ended with a mutter to herself.

Renji looked a bit horrified, "I am NOT getting him an engagement ring! A diamond solitaire is so...feminine... He'd kill me!"

Rukia hung her head and took a deep breath, "Not all rings are like that. Think! If you look hard enough, you'll find just the right one."

She grabbed his hand and began walking, "Even if you can't find an engagement type ring, you'll need wedding bands and that'll do when you ask him. Everyone wants something like this to be special and not asked in an offhand way. How would you like him to ask you?" By this time they were heading through District One to the shopping area. There was one store Rukia had in mind that just might have a fitting set of rings for her two knuckle-headed friends.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Renji griped. "Honestly he **should** be asking me, not the other way around! He's the big bad Clan Head after all."

"But you're the one who wants to make it official. He's perfectly fine with the way things are; so **you** have to make the first move!" Rukia rolled her eyes, honestly...men!

Renji sighed, deep in thought as they entered the jewelers and Rukia led him to the ring section. He focused on the selection in front of him as a salesperson approached. "How can I help you?" the lady asked with a small smile.

"My friend is shopping for an engagement ring and band set for his lover," Rukia piped up. "He's not a girly type and Renji isn't sure what to pick out for him." By this time Renji was blushing and sending a glare at his midget of a friend. However the clerk didn't even bat an eye as she pulled out a few boxes.

Renji's eyes opened wide as he saw the assortment of bands. They were gorgeous and a few had stones that would do as an engagement ring. Rukia smiled as he got into the mood and she waved the woman over to the side. They had a short, whispered conversation and then shared a mutual grin. The sales clerk cleared her throat, "There are a couple more sets in the back. I'll be right back."

Renji nodded as he looked at one particular set that had caught his eye and Rukia came over to see what he'd found. He was frowning. It was the best he'd seen yet...but it still wasn't quite right. He sighed, "I just don't think diamonds are Ichigo's thing." Rukia had to agree, the rings weren't quite right. The saleswoman finally came back and set down a long ring box. She made sure she had Renji's attention and then slowly opened it. "This might be more of what you were looking for."

Both women smirked at each other when they saw the look on the red head's face. Bingo!

* * *

Hallibel was furious at the question until she realized that the boy was serious, "Why do you want to know?" They were walking through Los Noches toward the meeting room the group liked to use.

"Around five years ago, the Kuchiki Clan built an orphanage in District Seventy-Eight. It slowly began to fill with children who needed protection from hollows. They mostly have high reiatsu and can't really use it to defend themselves yet. The place was needed in the area and it's flourished.

"There was an attack on it last night. It was very well organized and was aimed specifically at the children," he watched the three in front of him as they sat down. The women were frowning at the idea of children being attacked and Grimm just looked disgusted.

"Cowards...gangin' up and attackin' kids; they're nothing but cowards," was the bluenette's assessment.

Hallibel was watching Ichigo, waiting for the rest. He continued, "Of course we realized that it had nothing to do with you guys but it might be someone who's trying to raise their power quickly in order to cause you trouble. Or it might be someone who's targeting the Seireitei, considering how many of us are actively involved with the home.

"Kyouraku and Ukitake were staying there at the time of the attack and helped to fight off the hollows. During that battle, they realized that one of the older kids might actually be one of the Espada they defeated during the war; hence my question."

Hallibel quietly asked, "Who?"

Ichigo steadily held her gaze, "The boy looks to be about fifteen years old. He has wavy shoulder length brown hair, clear blue-grey eyes, and a rather lazy disposition. He has a very young sister named Yuri and his name is Koyoute." That got a reaction from everyone at the table. Starrk had been well-respected by all of them.

"They were the first but there are others. There's one little boy, a toddler really, with black hair and deep green eyes. He has a personality but it doesn't show itself very often. His name is Yukishiro. Orihime and I both recognized him when we saw him for the first time. Renji swears there are two boys there he fought during the war. They're both a bit older than Yuki; maybe six and eight. The older is blonde and the younger has hair the color of Squad Eleven's fukutaicho. Their names are Mikitosen and Hachiken." That got a reaction from Grimmjow. "There are others, these are the ones I know have been recognized. They all have similar looks and personalities to Espada and Arrancars we fought. They also have immense spiritual pressure; however they are obviously cleansed souls. I was told that when upper level hollows are cleansed they break apart into their separate souls; that it's impossible for them to stay together as a synergistic whole. Is that correct?"

Hallibel sat back to think while Nel bounced in her seat at the thought of some of their comrades still being around even if in a slightly different form. Grimmjow leaned forward intently, "There are others like them there?" At Ichigo's nod he leapt up, "I wanna see 'em!"

Ichigo cocked a brow at the Arrancar, "Why?" Grimmjow sat back down abruptly and actually blushed. Ichigo thought he was seeing things but that wasn't the case. "What is it, Grimm?"

"If yer right, the little blonde is Ilfort, he was one of my Fraccion. If that's true, the others might be there. I want ta see for myself, Shinigami; that's all," he looked away huffily.

Ichigo's eyes widened, 'Is he **pouting**?' He asked aloud in curiosity, "You were close to them?"

"We were together for centuries. And yeah, by our standards we were close," Grimmjow wouldn't make eye contact. He was embarrassed that he felt so much hope.

"The question raised is interesting," Hallibel finally spoke up. "You are correct that hollows dissolve back into the separate souls that comprise them. It's unheard of for the whole to survive a cleansing." She looked like she was fighting hope as well.

Ichigo leaned back, "Do you think Aizen's experiments with the hogyoku changed that in all of you?" Grimm growled while Hallibel frowned.

"It's possible but the soul reapers took all his research with them when the war was over," she answered.

"Shit!" Ichigo frowned. "How about Szaelaporro's research? Would he have any information on it?"

"That's also possible, but all of his research disappeared too."

* * *

**A/N: Translations are as follows:**

**Koyoute Sutāku = Coyote Starrk **

**Yuri = Lillynette - Lilly**

**Yukishiro = Ulquiorra Schiffer – Snowy fourth son**

**Mikotosen = Yylfordt Granz – Prince of Battle**

**Hachiken = Szayelapporro Granz – Studious eighth son**

** Rosu Robosu = Los Lobos - Wolf Pack**

**I wanted names that meant something to the former Espada but weren't directly from the manga. Starrk's is the only one I used completely from the canon - I couldn't find anything else I liked better. :) The translations might be a bit off; my research was from the internet and I'll admit I got...somewhat...creative with how I put the names together. ^^ Hopefully I'm not completely off base and didn't accidentally insult anyone!**

**Does anyone want to hazard a guess as to who stole the research? ;-)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ichigo arrived back home around mid-afternoon, deep in thought. His first assumption when Hallibel had told him the research had disappeared was that Squad Twelve had commandeered it. However Kurotshuchi had never filed a report about it so this would have to be handled carefully. He sighed as he headed for the Sotaicho's office to file his report. 'Nothin's ever friggin' easy.'

He knocked and entered when he was given the go-ahead. Shunsui was at his desk with Jushiro standing near one of the windows behind him. He smiled as he approached the two men. "Well that was a bit of a wasted trip, although Hallibel asked me to send her regards to you, Sotaicho," Ichigo grinned as he approached the desk.

"What did you learn?" Kyouraku asked with a curious look.

"Mainly nothing. The research disappeared when our troops left Hueco Mundo at the end of the war," Ichigo answered with frustration.

"So Squad Twelve has it?" Ukitake asked.

"Probably," was the disappointing answer. "Oh, and both Grimm and Tia want to see the kids," Ichigo added. At the other two men's startled looks he continued, "Starrk and Hallibel were very close and one of Grimm's Fraccion's may be here so he wants to see if any of the others came through. From the way he acted, it seemed important to him.

"**And **before you reject their request out of hand, may I remind you that they both have worked with us since Bach's war to keep the really insane shit from getting out of Hueco Mundo. I also warned them that they couldn't try to trigger any memories, they would just be able to satisfy their curiosity and that was only** if** you gave the go ahead."

Kyouraku looked at the younger man thoughtfully, "You think they should be allowed to see them, don't you?"

"Yes I do," was the ready answer. "You should have seen their expressions. It would be cruel to ask for their help and get their hopes up that their comrades might be alive just to deny them the confirmation."

There was a weighty pause and then, "I'll think it over and get back with you shortly Kurosaki-kun." Ichigo nodded and left the office to go check in with his Taicho before heading home.

He was in a hurry to get back to Renji. For some reason, as the day wore on, he had become antsier. It was as if he had a scratch that he couldn't reach. He needed to get home to see his mate.

* * *

As Ichigo hurried toward his and Byakuya's shared office he wondered where everyone was; the barrack's hallway seemed curiously empty. When he approached the door, he quickly realized why everyone seemed to have abandoned this side of the building. His hand was on the knob when he heard a suspicious sounding whine followed by a deep grunt of satisfaction. It all reminded him of the one time Renji had talked him into playing in his office, and it had turned into one of the most pleasurably embarrassing moments of his life. Hanataro had the lousiest timing!

Ichigo couldn't help himself and leaned into the door to try and make sure his Taicho wouldn't want him to interrupt. He heard Byakuya talking softly to someone who then answered in a husky voice, "Don't worry Hime. Everyone. Knows. Better." The last three words were punctuated by what sounded like the desk moving and at Byakuya's drawn-out moan Ichigo decided that his report could wait until morning as he hastily beat a retreat and headed for home.

He had calmed down somewhat by the time he reached his and Renji's house although the almost witnessed scene in the office had definitely left him feeling...needy for his mate. At least his blush had calmed itself down and he no longer sported a tent in his underwear. Gods he hated being so young sometimes; he was just too reactive to...outside...stimuli.

The house was silent as he entered and he supposed Renji wasn't home from work yet. He huffed in annoyance and decided have a nice relaxing bath while he waited. Ichigo was resting in the tub in no time at all and began to doze in the warm water. He was promptly out like a light and completely missed the door opening a crack and then quietly closing.

* * *

A few hours later Ichigo woke up from his unanticipated nap and realized he was no longer in the bath. Someone had dressed him in sweatpants and put him to bed. 'It better have been Renji,' he thought contentedly to himself as he got up and walked into the living area. The room was empty but there was a note pinned to the sofa.

**Ichi,**

**Once you get up, get dressed and come out to the garden.**

** Renji**

Ichigo grinned and shook his head as he headed back to the bedroom to change. It took him a minute to decide on what to wear but in the end he chose an outfit from the World of the Living: Skinny black jeans, a dark blue silk button up that practically flowed over his body, and black combat-style boots. He stood back to make sure it looked good and then laughed as he shrugged and headed out.

At the back of their property there was a small garden that the two had developed in order to have a small bit of peace close to home. They had modeled it on one of the less formal gardens the Kuchiki Estate housed and Ichigo thought it was even lovelier than the Kuchiki's. When he reached the cozy sitting area, he found another note.

**Do you remember where we celebrated our first anniversary?**

Ichigo now had a huge grin on his face. Of course he remembered. They'd celebrated under a immense oak tree just at the edge of the Kuchiki land. He took off for there at a quickened pace, wanting to see what his lover was up to. He reached the tree in record time only to find another note pinned to the tree.

**Ichi,**

**Walk straight ahead and you will come to a small waterfall. I'm waiting there for you.**

** Renji **

At this point the younger man decided to shunpo the rest of the way. He was dying of curiosity as to what Renji had planned and why. He reached the glade and found a small round table set for two and another small table set with chafing dishes off to the side. Renji had his back to Ichigo and was intently watching the waterfall as he waited for the younger man. He was...beautiful there was no other word Ichigo could use to describe him; dressed in one of the yukatas that he favored. This one was in a forest green that complimented his long red hair, which at the moment was flowing free over his shoulders. Ichigo's mouth went dry at the vision. He personally thought the older man was one of the most incredible beings ever created and sometimes he couldn't understand how Renji could love him so completely. To a certain degree he felt humbled.

About then Renji turned around and caught sight of Ichigo. For a second he looked stunned and then he grinned as he walked over to his mate. "You look delicious, Baby," he said softly as he moved in for a quick kiss.

Ichigo flushed crimson, "Shut up! ...And you do too," he whispered the last as he leant forward to return the favor. The quick kiss grew heated until Renji forcibly pulled himself away.

"We'll revisit this later, but for now let's have dinner," he gasped as he led Ichigo to the table. "Are ya hungry?"

"Yes," the dark sound rolled off the younger man's tongue; sending shivers down Renji's back. When he looked over at his lover, he drew in a quiet breath. The warm brown eyes had darkened with lust and his face had taken on a very hungry look. Renji licked his lips at the promise held within his mate's expression.

"Dinner first, love," the red head stated as he motioned to the table. As Ichigo sat himself down, Renji moved over to the serving dishes and began serving their plates. When he moved back to the table he caught his mate's curious look. "What is it Ichi?"

"What's up Ren? It's not any anniversary that I remember and it isn't either of our birthdays so what gives?" Ichigo tilted his head as Renji set his plate down.

The older man's eyes softened as he held Ichigo's gaze, "Do I really need an excuse to pamper the person I love?"

The younger man sat back as he shook his head, "No, but you usually don't go all out like this, unless it's a special occasion."

"I know. I tend to be predictable don't I?" Renji asked ruefully as he sat down with his own plate. "I'm trying to change that a bit," he continued as he poured the wine into their glasses. He'd talked the Kuchiki chef into helping him out with this dinner. It was Western style; filet mignon with roasted baby root vegetables mixed with baby red potatoes. There was a salad of romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, and shredded vegetables served with Ichigo's favorite vinaigrette; balsamic. There were also fluffy rolls and the whole meal was complimented with a very fruity Zinfandel...the real deal, not that "white" crap. Dessert, a delicate Caramel Crème Brulee, was hidden in a cooler behind the makeshift buffet. Renji had every right to be pleased with his efforts and it was obvious Ichigo was blown away by the effort he'd made.

"This is a great way to start," Ichigo murmured into his wine glass with a mischievous look directed towards his lover.

They had a wonderful meal, Ichigo bringing Renji up-to-date on the research disappearance. Renji began to fill his mate in on what had happened that day. "The kids won't be able to move back to the home anytime soon. There was too much damage; in fact it practically burnt to the ground. The Sotaicho offered them a place here within the Seireitei until theirs can be rebuilt."

"I'm glad he did that, but damn! That's too bad," Ichigo shook his head at the waste. He sighed, "Well at least it'll be easier to see them if they're here."

"True,"Renji said with a grin as he stood up to remove the dinner plates. He kept his back to Ichigo for a bit to calm himself before the big moment. Suddenly he was nervous; palms sweating and hands slightly shaking. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning to bring over the dessert. He set his down first and as he moved to set Ichigo's in front of him, he turned the younger man's chair a bit and simply sank to the ground between Ichigo's legs. At the questioning look on his mate's face, Renji smiled up at him, placed a jewelers box into his hands, and simply said, "I did my research."

Ichigo took a moment to stare deeply into his lover's eyes before slowly opening the box. He gasped when he saw the rings. They were gorgeous and...perfect! Just what he would have chosen had he been the one doing the asking. Nestled in dark blue velvet sat three rings. They were simple bands made of brushed white gold. All three bands had grooved edges. Set within the center of the thinner band were three black diamonds and the same black diamonds were set into the grooves around both sides of the wider bands. They were simply exquisite. "You sure did," he whispered as Renji lifted out the smaller band and, looking up into his lover's eyes, slipped it onto his ring finger.

"Will you marry me?"

* * *

Zabimaru was walking through his favorite part of the jungle in Renji's inner world when he came across a section that was...strange, to say the least. It looked like a crack was appearing in the middle of a clearing. The corner of a building made of steel and glass was poking through said crack.

On the other side of the crack, within Ichigo's inner world, Zangetsu saw vines worming their way inside. He strolled over to investigate and called, "Zabimaru? You there?"

The nue frowned. The voice sounded familiar and yet different at the same time. "Zangetsu?" he asked in confusion.

"Yes, it's me," the younger voice answered. Zabimaru craned his neck to see through the crack and he saw the most incredible being. He looked like an Arrancar. His shoulder-length hair was white and the mask that covered the left side of his head was a solid black. His clothes were a white shihakusho with black trim. His eyes were the weirdest thing; gold on black. He was gorgeous. He smirked, "This is my true form, when all of Ichigo's powers are united. I can still split apart when necessary, though."

Zabimaru just opened and closed his mouth for a minute until he finally got his wits about him. "Uh, it looks like their worlds are beginning to unite. I thought this wouldn't happen until Ichigo's next heat?"

"Yes, I thought so as well. However Renji just asked Ichigo to marry him so that might have something to do with it."

The nue nodded, "That could be it. It's an indication of the depth of their commitment to each other. I expect there will be earthquakes in both our worlds soon. This kind of rearranging can be violent."

"When they play, it's usually thunder, lightening, and tornadoes over here," Zangetsu answered with a chuckle of delight. The ground shook as he laughed again, "My kind of storm!"

Zabimaru was still watching the other zanpakuto spirit with interest. 'This might take some...getting used to,' he thought.

* * *

Dessert sat forgotten as Ichigo tackled Renji to the ground. The red head was practically smothered with kisses as his mate straddled him and showed his appreciation in a more...physical way. When the two men came up for air Renji asked a bit breathlessly, "So, is that a yes?"

"Shit yeah, that's a yes!" Ichigo smirked. "How could I say no to all this?" he waved his hand at the whole setting and then looked into his lover's eyes. "Thank you, Ren," he managed as he moved in for another kiss. At this point Renji decided to take back some control and rolled them over so he was looking down into molten chocolate brown eyes.

He cocked an eyebrow, "Thank you, huh? That's a odd reaction to a marriage proposal." Ichigo just smiled up at him.

"You made an effort with all of this. It means a lot, you know." His eyes began to droop with lust, "Now enough talk," he muttered as he began to nip at his lover's neck, "more action."

Renji pulled away slightly to look around. While they were having dinner the sun had finished setting and the moon had risen. He looked back down at his mate and stood, drawing Ichigo up with him. There was a rather large patch of soft grass a bit closer to the waterfall and he moved over to it before turning back to his younger lover. He moved to gather him into his arms, saying in a rough voice, "I want to take you now, underneath the moon and stars, what do ya say?"

Ichigo's eyes lit up with an inner fire as he ran his hands down his lover's chest until they reached his obi and began untying it. "Sounds good to me," he muttered against Renji's neck as he leaned in to nuzzle it. "I want to feel you inside me so bad right now Ren," he groaned as he threw the obi off to the side and got a good look at his lover's body. He could live a thousand years and never get enough of that view. "Fuck me now!" he demanded as he stepped away to pull his boots off. Renji growled deep in his throat as his more primal side came to the forefront and he pulled the younger man back to him to help him strip. As Ichigo removed his shirt, Renji began working on his pants. When Ichigo was down to his briefs, Renji threw off his own yukata and laid the younger man down on the bed of grass, lowering himself to hover over him. He took his time, running a hand down Ichigo's side as he took in the younger man under him. Ichigo gripped his arms as he squirmed under Renji's gaze, torn between being turned on and embarrassed. Renji grinned at him and began to pull off the last bit of clothing Ichigo had left. "R-renj-ji," he panted, "are ya only gonna look?" he asked with a light blush. He was starting to get self-conscious about his nudity in the open like this.

"Don't worry, Ichi. No one else will ever be allowed to see you like this. Tonight is for my eyes only, ok?" Renji asked as he pinned the younger man with both his eyes and hands.

Ichigo took a breath and nodded, "Ok." Renji lowered himself until he rested right above his mate. He cradled Ichigo's head in his hands and began to ravish his mouth. He pulled away only to move to the column of neck laid out for his enjoyment. Ichigo's eyes were hazed over again with lust and he writhed under the bigger man. "Renji, fuuuck me," he moaned at a very thorough suck from his lover. He heard a chuckle as Renji raised his head.

"So impatient," the red head teased. "We've got all night Baby...and I plan on using every minute of that time to fill you up." He looked down and Ichigo saw all the love and desire reflected in his mahogany eyes. "Over and over again, until there's no doubt you're mine. Until you can't walk anymore and are so sated you won't be able to leave our bed for a week." After that declaration Ichigo was so turned on that he seriously was thinking of flipping their positions and riding Renji right there if he didn't get on with it already! Renji read his face and pulled back to grab his obi and a vial of oil he'd hidden away just for this instance. He swiftly turned back to his impatient lover and tied his hands together with the obi using a kido spell to strengthen it so his mate wouldn't be able to tear through it, and keep his arms pinned so Renji wouldn't have to.

"Renji!" Ichigo ground out as he tried to get free. It was useless and he flopped back onto the ground panting.

"The longer you struggle, the longer I'll tease ya," Renji whispered into the younger man's ear as he stroked his sides, making Ichigo flinch from the stimulus. "You get so sensitive when you're like this...did you know that?" he asked as he lowered his tongue to flick a nipple, making Ichigo jump even more. Renji finally decided to give his lover a bit of what he wanted and he began to seriously work Ichigo's nipples to full hardness with both fingers and tongue, switching back and forth between the two so Ichigo had no idea what he'd do next. He grinned down at the moaning mass that was his lover as he moved a bit lower to lick along Ichigo's abdomen and finally taking his length into his mouth and swallowing him whole.

"Fuck yes!" Ichigo practically screamed as he tried to buck into the hot wet that was Renji's mouth. The older man quickly held him down to keep from choking as he worked Ichigo into a complete frenzy. "Fuck, Ren, fuuuuck!" he moaned loudly as he lost his load down his mate's throat, Renji milking him dry before letting him slide out and moving back up for another heated kiss.

Ichigo hadn't quite come down from his sex-induced high before he felt himself hardening again under Renji's skillful tongue and hands. While the red head was still re-mapping his lover's mouth he had managed to coat his fingers in the oil and he quickly slid one inside Ichigo's entrance while he was preoccupied with what Renji's tongue was doing. Ichigo broke away to groan at the feeling but his mouth was recaptured by Renji as he slid in a second finger and began pumping them in and out of him. He finally moved from Ichigo's mouth back to his cock as finger number three slipped in to begin spreading him for more. As his hand moved faster Ichigo felt his prostate get brushed and he arched into the feeling with an even louder moan. At this point he was past trying to be quiet or even caring if the whole of the Seireitei saw them.

The sounds he made always did things to Renji's inner animal. The more Ichigo cried out in pleasure the more excited he got until he couldn't stand it anymore and removed his fingers to bury himself to the hilt inside his lover. He took Ichigo in one hard thrust and stilled for a bit until the younger man bucked his hips to let him know he could move. And move he did, practically drilling into the willing body beneath him. The pace grew by the second with both men shouting their pleasure. Ichigo felt the coiling sensation inside his gut and he met Renji's thrusts with hard ones of his own. When Renji reached between them and began to stroke his mate in time with his movements, Ichigo arched and slammed his hips up into the bigger man freezing as his orgasm overtook him. Renji shouted as he was milked of his own load, thrusting completely into the willing body beneath him and burying himself deep into his lover's core; grabbing Ichigo's hips to keep them joined and stilling inside him as he released. Both men were panting and absolutely refused to move for a matter of moments and then Ichigo groaned and the passion-induced spell was broken.

As both men shifted to a more comfortable position Ichigo sighed, "Where the hell did **that** come from?"

Renji chuckled, "I don't know but I hope we can do it again sometime."

* * *

**A/N: There you have the proposal! ^^**

**You can find the wedding band set at the following link. Just take out the spaces and it should work. :) **

www . tivol catalog / product / 39 / A- Jaffe- White- Gold- Diamond- Wedding- Band

**The engagement ring I made up to go with the wedding bands.**

**As far as Zangetsu goes... This is how I decided to run with it. I didn't want to completely ignore the newest developments in the actual manga, but I've written too much to go back and change it. So for this story Zangetsu can either be one combination entity or split into the two separate ones. And for the purposes of this story, Ichigo still only has one sword :-) Although I thought his two new swords were very cool! ^^**


	5. Chapter 5

**I wanted to take the time here to thank the guests who have reviewed and commented on this story so far. I love hearing from you guys! **

**There is one point I wanted to clarify though. Byakuya is still involved with the same person he was with in the Mating Game. I briefly mention who it is in this chapter. ^^ **

**On with the story...**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

The two men finally made it back to their home just as the sun was rising. They didn't get much sleep as they were 'busy' a few more times during the night. Neither of them understood where all of their energy came from. This usually only happened during Ichigo's cycle and that was still about two weeks away. Even if the situation was a bit weird, they weren't willing to look a gift horse in the mouth so they decided to just accept it.

Fortunately the next day was their day off and they could both afford to sleep in. The only work related item Ichigo had to take care of was making his report to Byakuya and as they were invited over for lunch, he figured he could take care of it then; they'd just show up a little earlier. Ichigo sent a hell butterfly off to inform his commanding officer that he was back and would check in with him a bit later before falling into his bed and a heavy sleep. Before sleep claimed Renji, he tucked his mate into his chest and wrapped his arm around his waist to keep him there. With a smile he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Neither knew how long they were out before they both woke up in their inner worlds. Ichigo sat up when he felt the change in the air; startled when he noticed the changes to his world. "Wha-?" he began as he stood up to look around.

"Well, it's about time you woke up, Ichigo," the voice of his zanpakuto said behind him. Ichigo wheeled around to face the spirit.

"What the hell's happened here?" were the first words out of the orange head's mouth.

Zangetsu strolled around looking at the overgrowth of vines and flowering plants, "Looks like you and Red's inner worlds are starting to merge." He glanced over at his wielder and smirked, "It appears a bit trashed right now but it'll become more fluid and less wrecked once the change is complete."

Ichigo was wandering around the side of the building he was standing on, watching as plants crept up through cracks and holes in the concrete and glass. As he watched, the building almost looked like it was molding itself around the plants to allow them access. It was as if the buildings themselves were the soil the plants were growing from. It was freaky...but beautiful. "What do you think it looks like from Renji's side?"

"I suppose it looks like this but in reverse. On his side the buildings are forcing their way through the jungle and the plants are allowing the encroachment as the two are growing together. I haven't been able to get a good look yet through the original crack."

"There's a crack?" Ichigo asked eagerly. "Can you show me?"

Zangetsu raised an eyebrow, "Can't stay away from lover boy even in here, hmm?" Before Ichigo could get pissed off at his teasing, he grabbed the other's hand and began to lead. "Come on, let's see if you can communicate with him in here now."

* * *

Renji came to at around the same time as Ichigo but in a different area. He was definitely in his inner world...but it had...changed. "Took ya long enough, Renji." He turned to see Zabimaru standing nearby.

"Shit, what **is** all this?" he asked in confusion. "I knew this was going to happen, but wasn't it 'sposed to take place in like two weeks? When Ichi goes into heat again?"

"That's what we thought too," Zabimaru shrugged, "but, as with everything that boy touches, it isn't going quite as expected." Renji heard the grin in his zanpakuto's voice. "Check it all out. It's kinda cool."

Renji huffed but got up to look around. It sort of reminded him of a science fiction movie he'd seen years ago with Ichigo in the Living World. The movie was only so-so but the scene of one of the larger cities basically being reclaimed by nature stuck with him. This was a lot like that, only it seemed like the buildings were reclaiming the jungle. They were encroaching on the natural landscape, not the other way around. He heard a chuckle as Zabimaru spoke again.

"Ya want to see ground zero?" the baboon grinned.

"Sure, lead on," Renji answered with a smirk.

The two men reached either side of the crack at roughly the same time and their zanpakuto both held back to see if they could communicate. Ichigo was examining the rift when he saw a ripple of movement just to the other side. "Renji are you there?" he shouted and tried to reach through the rift. He pulled back quickly as what felt like electricity began to sizzle along his skin. "Shit!"

"Ichi, where are ya?" Renji was looking around trying to figure out where his mate was. "Are ya ok?" he'd heard the curse and it sounded like the younger man was in pain.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ichigo called back. "I just got a shock." He heard a snort from Zangetsu and turned to glare at him. "How do I get through there?"

"Guess you two aren't quite ready yet," was his only answer as his zanpakuto shook his head in mock disappointment. "Looks like you boys will just have to keep working at it," he gave the orange head a lecherous look and wink and then disappeared.

"Oi! Zangetsu! That's just not fair, get back here!" he yelled as his inner world began to dissolve and he was forced back into his own body.

He woke up with a start, still wrapped in his lover's arms and felt Renji stir beside him. "That was kinda different," he muttered as he rolled over to snuggle into the other man.

"You said it," came the drowsy answer. "Go back ta sleep, we'll talk later

* * *

They managed to get up and ready in time to go over to the Kuchiki Estate for lunch and they weren't even late! Although they did cut it close and Byakuya was outside waiting for them as they arrived. "Renji, go on in. Rukia is waiting for you in the sitting room. I wish to speak to my fukutaicho alone for a moment." Renji nodded and looked sympathetically at his mate before heading inside. By his former Taicho's tone he knew Ichigo was in for it.

The other two men walked around to the back of the home in order to speak privately. "Please explain exactly why you did not immediately report to me yesterday when you first arrived back," Byakuya demanded in a quietly cold voice. Ichigo grinned impishly and then wiped off his expression and stood at attention to report.

"Forgive me Taicho, but when I arrived at our office yesterday, you seemed to be in a..." he paused to find the right words, "...previously arranged meeting with Zaraki-taicho and I did not deem it to be a wise move on my part to interrupt. As it was getting late, and I didn't have anything dire to report, I felt it would be the wiser choice to head home and talk to you today."

Byakuya's expression never wavered although his lips did tighten slightly and he had a very slight blush across the bridge of his nose, "I see. I would like to hear your report on your trip to Hueco Mundo now."

Ichigo quickly filled him in as they continued on their way to the dining room. The younger man always used his hands while talking and Byakuya couldn't help but notice the ring on his finger. He decided to bide his time before mentioning it. He also had something he urgently wanted to ask the younger man but decided it could wait until after they ate.

Of course as soon as Rukia saw the ring, she tackled Ichigo to the ground and demanded to see it and hear all the details. Hanataro had shown up while Ichigo was reporting to Byakuya and he lifted her off of their orange haired friend. "Rukia, you're cutting off his air supply. Give him some room!" he laughed at his fiancee's antics. She pouted but then re-asked for all the details and her two friends gave her the high points of their dinner and the proposal.

From that point on the meal proceeded smoothly and happily. Rukia brought everyone up-to-date on her and Hanataro's wedding plans and then asked about Ichigo's and Renji's plans at which point they both looked at her blankly. She groaned as Renji laughed outright.

"Rukia, he just said yes; give us some time!"he looked over at his mate affectionately. "We haven't even had time to tell Ichi's family yet. And you can't say anything to anyone else until we do," at this he glared at the dark haired girl. "Do I make myself clear?" his tone was one very few people had ever heard him use and Rukia calmed down and nodded.

"Just don't take forever. We need to plan the event."

"Who's '**we**'!?" both men squeaked.

* * *

After lunch, Byakuya and Ichigo headed out to the gardens, leaving the rest inside arguing over types of wedding ceremonies.

"How do you deal with the insanity that is your sister?" Ichigo asked in frustration while rubbing the back of his neck. Byakuya gave a delicate snort before answering.

"It isn't difficult...in small doses. That's why I suggested going for a walk."

"Hm," the younger man grinned at his captain, "I thought you just wanted to talk to me about something you didn't want anyone else to hear."

Byakuya paused in mid-stride before continuing, "What makes you say that?" He was curious about what had given him away.

"Every time you offer to show me 'a new planting in the garden,' you usually really want to talk to me privately about something you feel might be embarrassing if others found out. Since I'm the only one interested in the gardens, your offer ensures no one else will come." He smirked, "Now tell me I'm wrong."

His Taicho shook his head, "You are not wrong. And please say nothing of this to anyone. Not even Renji," he looked sharply at Ichigo.

The younger man nodded, "Of course. What is it?"

Byakuya sighed, "Ōtoribashi-taicho just informed us that he and Aikawa are expecting; and I am sure that you and Renji are now well on your way." He gave his fukutaicho a sharp look, "Can you tell me how that is even possible?"

Ichigo cocked an eyebrow inquiringly but went ahead, "Like Rose told me, it's easier said than done." He then went on to explain about bonding on a soul level. "Everyone is different and the process can take a while...or no time at all," he shook his head. "For Love and Rose the process took a year. For us, it seems to be proceeding more quickly. I should be fertile by the end of my next cycle. **Then **we should be able to have a family."

Byakuya nodded, "So it's binding your souls together that causes the change? Do you think...?" he frowned as he allowed his voice to fade away before he could finish his thought. Ichigo looked him over carefully.

"Hey, Byakuya," he turned the older man and waited for him to look at him. "Why do you want to know?" he asked quietly.

The older man took a deep breath, "The council's finally pushing for an heir. I named a cousin of mine who has the strength and intelligence to lead but they would prefer a 'child of my body'." Ichigo could practically hear the quotation marks around that phrase. "I won't give up my lover for them; even if it is my so-called duty. So I was curious..." he trailed off as he looked away across the gardens.

"I think one of you needs to be either a Visored or an Arrancar," Ichigo finally answered. Then he said what he'd wanted to say for forever, "You've got to stop allowing them to lead you around by the nose, Byakuya! You are a strong Clan Head and no matter what they threaten, they'd be fools to push you out. They understand your sense of duty and use it to manipulate you. Stop letting them!" he glared at his superior. "And don't you dare try to tell me I have an easier clan to deal with! I don't; they're just as manipulative. However I don't let them get away with it. And you shouldn't either. No one has the right to say who you should love and be with!"

After that tirade both men fell quiet as they made their way slowly back to the house. The silence became lighter as they strolled until finally Ichigo grinned and shot a sideways glance at the older man. "You could try and see what happens. Even if the process doesn't enable you to have children, the sex will be amazing!"

Byakuya smirked, "I see. That's why you waited until today to report..." He almost grinned when Ichigo began blushing.

"No! Renji's proposal is what did that...mostly."

"Um hm, I know when my 'meeting' ended and it was early enough for you to report...unless you had other...things taking up your attention." Ichigo decided to play it safe and ignore the innuendo.

Right as they were arriving back at the house, both men felt a surge of spirit pressure approaching. They tensed until they realized who it belonged to. The younger man grinned at his captain, "Looks like you're being invaded."

Byakuya nodded, "However this 'invasion' is welcome." Lighthearted children's voices could be heard along with Yachiru's and Kenpachi's as the group approached. The gate was flung open as about fifteen children of varying ages swarmed inside the garden.

Before anyone else could make a move, Yachiru got their attention, "You cannot break anything. If it looks old, don't touch it! If it looks fragile, don't touch it! If it looks edible...I get first dibs! Oh, and no swimming in the koi pond! If you ignore these rules, Byakki won't let you come back. Now, have fun!" and she ran off towards her favorite tree to swing from one of it's lower branches.

Byakuya hurried to the house to order snacks for the rowdy group as Kenpachi was tackled by one group of kids wanting to roughhouse and Ichigo was surrounded by another group wanting to play tag. He joined in gleefully as 'it' and managed to let the game take a while as he deliberately tried not to find the children too quickly. They were all young enough that their hiding skills weren't the greatest. Renji watched from the porch for a while with a gentle smile hovering around his lips.

"He's going to make a great parent one day," Rukia murmured a she came over after Hanataro left to go back to work.

"There's more to parenting than play," Renji answered. "And I know he will," he grinned down at his friend. They watched for a few minutes as one of the boys, Mikoto, snuck up behind Ichigo and tried to trip him so his younger brother, Ken, could make a dash for home base. "It's amazing that those two get along so well now," he smiled while shaking his head at the unintended comedy routine his mate was involved in.

"So they were...who again?" Rukia was having a hard time equating the children's possible pasts with their current present.

"I'm pretty sure Mikotosen was Ilfort Granz and Hachiken was Szaelaporro Granz."

"Weird," she shook her head, "and they're still brothers? I guess some connections follow you through every life."

"I guess," Renji sighed. "I think Ichi needs a break," he grinned and hurried off to save his lover from the rug-rats. Rukia sat down to wait for the orange head to come over for a quick chat.

"Have fun?" she asked teasingly as he flopped down beside her with a grin.

"Yeah, they are quite the workout," he said while catching his breath.

"Um, Ichigo...I have a question to ask you," she began a bit nervously. He noticed her fidgeting and nodded for her to continue. "Would you be willing to give me away?"

He gave her a sharp look, "Don't you think Byakuya would want that honor? Or Renji, for that matter?"

"Actually Nii-sama is performing the ceremony. He's the head of the clan and it **is** his right. I wanted all three of you to be involved and Hanataro's already asked Renji to be his best man. So...would you?" she looked sideways at him.

Ichigo gave her a gentle smile, "Of course. This'll be the second time I've given someone away. I wonder who will ask me next?" he questioned with an amused smirk.

Rukia's smile grew broad, "Your sisters will be next, I suppose." She giggled at Ichigo's look of horror and continued with her teasing, "So who's gonna give **you** away? Your dad?"

"Oh hell no he won't! If I want to be given away, he's the last person to do it properly!" he shuddered and then turned thoughtful. "I guess we'll have to have it here in the Seireitei. Dad and the girls should be able to come here; Uryu, Orihime, and Chad as well. I can't see my clan liking the idea of having the ceremony in Karakura."

"It would be so much easier here than there," Rukia agreed. "Can you imagine everyone from **here** being gathered in one place **there**? It'd be a madhouse!"

"Yeah," Ichigo began but then his attention was jerked away. Some extremely powerful spiritual pressure was quickly approaching the estate...very familiar spiritual pressure.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter turned out so long that I had to break it down. This seemed to be the best place to stop at. Sorry. ^^**


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: Originally, this was the second half of the last chapter. I decided to split it due to the length. ^^**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Ichigo sat up straight when he realized the reiatsu belonged to Hallibel and Grimmjow, "Shit, I told them to wait!" Ichigo jumped up only to be pulled back down by Rukia.

"Baka! The Sotaicho's with them," she huffed and gave an 'I told you so' gesture when the small group entered the back garden and headed over to them.

Both Tia and Grimm looked uncomfortable being this close to so many high level shinigami but it was the children that had their attention as they greeted the two and made themselves comfortable. The Sotaicho nodded at the two younger shinigami with a small smile and answered their questioning looks, "When you're right, Ichigo-kun, you're right." He then languidly waved and went over to sit under the tree near where Koyoute was relaxing with Yuri.

"So these are the suspicious rug-rats?" Grimmjow smirked as he watched a couple of the kids try to sneak attack Renji.

"Where's..." Hallibel began and then she focused on the boy sitting next to Kyouraku, "...Starrk?" Her eyes widened as she took in his looks and attitude. He could have been Starrk's son, the likeness was uncanny. Then she looked at the younger girl sitting in his lap and she smiled slightly, "I'm glad they were able to come here together. Had he not been cleansed, he never would have been the same without Lilynette."

Grimmjow began to look more closely at the younger kids until he saw the two brothers. They were still working in tandem, this time to take down Renji who wasn't as easy to get past as Ichigo had been. "I can't believe it," he watched Mikoto closely. "Berry, I thought you were full a shit when you told us...but that's definitely Ilfort! And that little pinky has to be Szayel! Too bad he had to come through," he glared disgustedly and then began searching out others he could recognize. Hallibel had warned him not to get carried away and he tried to make sure he wasn't reading too much into it but the whole point of being here was to confirm what the Berry had reported to them.

Hallibel gasped when Rukia pointed to a group over by Yachiru, drawing the two men's attention, "Is that...?"

"Ulquiorra? Yeah I think so," Ichigo answered with a smirk as he pointed the little green eyed boy out to the bluenette.

"Shit," that seemed all Grimmjow could say. A small group over near Zaraki caught his attention next. There was a boy who looked to be about ten. He had dark brown hair braided down his back and he was acting bored as he watched another, younger boy, trying to sneak up behind the giant taicho. "Hey Berry, what about those two over there? What're their names?"

Ichigo looked over and grinned as he shook his head, "The older one is called Heika and the younger is known as Kasairyuu." Grimmjow nodded with a grin.

"That sounds about right for them," he continued to look around. "However I don't see Di Roy or Nakeem. I wonder what happened to 'em?"

Ichigo shrugged, "It's possible that they're in Soul Society, just not kids. Or maybe they haven't found the home...or don't need it. I think it's amazing that so many made it to the same place."

Hallibel nodded, "It is an interesting coincidence. Are these children sensitive to reiatsu? Maybe they recognized their similarities and instinctively banded together." The two shinigami could only shrug.

The group sat quietly as they watched the children before them. Rukia finally stood and made her excuses, saying that she had to get back to her office. The other three waved her off and went back to studying the scene before them in companionable silence.

Hallibel noticed two other children that seemed awfully familiar. They were both very young, similar to the little Ulquiorra. One had shoulder length dark brown hair, tied back in a loose ponytail. He looked to be about six or seven and he had another little boy by his side. He looked a little younger and had short blonde hair. His hair was styled in soft spikes. When she pointed them out to Ichigo, he smiled gently and answered, "Ryuu and Hei are what they're calling themselves now. Kenpachi recognized Ryuu first and with the two always by each other's side...well, it was easy to make the connection."

Grimmjow looked confused until he saw the little brunette grin a huge piano-toothed grin and then he bristled, "That bastard! **He's** here!? It's a good thing he's so small...wouldn't be worth my time to kill the little shit!" Hallibel laid a restraining hand on her second-in-command.

"That's enough Grimmjow," she said softly. He huffed and glared over at the two boys. However, before too much longer he was chuckling softly. It seemed that now they were here, Nnoitra and Tesla had a more equal relationship. He also noticed the interest the Squad Eleven captain showed them. If he was lucky and lived long enough for them to grow up, they'd develop into worthy opponents.

As the time passed, the two Arrancar gradually became aware that something was off with their companion. He began to act antsy, one leg shaking up and down in nervousness. Tia noticed that he never took his eyes off of Renji. Before too long the red head realized that Rukia was gone and he caught sight of his mate sitting between the two Alpha Arrancar. Suddenly he decided that he needed to greet their visitors, and he approached them.

Both Arrancar's eyes opened wide at what happened next. When Renji came alongside the group, Ichigo jumped up and fit himself flush beside the bigger man; Renji's hand cupping the back of his neck firmly as he smiled at the two visitors, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. Before the red head could say anything to the guests, Ichigo began a low purr as he unconsciously leaned into the older man and relaxed.

Both Hallibel and Grimmjow stood to greet their friend's mate, keeping a safe distance from the red head who was sending out sudden waves of warning. The two Arrancar were stunned. Both men were behaving like a mated hollow pair, not a couple of shinigami. It was strange. From what they'd seen of the two men over the past few years, they hardly ever acted as if they were together in public. Ichigo was too private a person to show over the top affection toward Renji in front of other people and Renji respected his wishes. The only time that changed was during Ichigo's cycle and that was when the two men tended to sequester themselves away from everyone. It looked to Hallibel as if neither was even aware of how they were acting. She met Grimmjow's eyes and they came to a quick decision.

"Well, we've seen what we came to see," Hallibel began.

"And you were right, Kurosaki," Grimmjow continued. "I think they are our former compatriot's."

"Could you two escort us back to the Squad One Barracks so we can head back home?" Hallibel asked while motioning for Ichigo to accompany her. Grimmjow fell in line beside Renji as the four headed back to the barracks. Hallibel pulled a bit ahead with Ichigo as Grimmjow fell behind with Renji. They felt they'd get more out of the pair if they split them up but didn't want to completely get them out of each other's line of sight. There was no way they'd get in the middle of a mated pair...it could mean their lives if they tried.

"So Ichigo," Hallibel began, "something is different between you and Abarai. Would you care to explain?"

The orange head blushed and ducked his head slightly, "I'm not sure what you mean."

"You know exactly what I mean and I want an explanation," she added just a slight touch of demand to her voice. She'd dealt with skittish Beta's for decades and knew just how much pressure to apply to get them to open up. "I don't think you realize how much you've changed in the last twenty-four hours." He met her eyes sharply and then tried to glance away. When he realized exactly what he was doing he looked stunned and forced himself to maintain eye contact.

"Shit, what's wrong with me?" he asked himself as he shook his head in confusion. "I didn't even realize..."

"I noticed," she noted dryly as she patted him on the shoulder. "I doubt either of you are aware of how differently you're behaving toward each other. You're acting exactly like mated hollows and what I'd like to know is why."

"Uh, well...you see..." he hesitated to explain at first but then decided to just dive in anyway, "it seems we didn't complete the ritual we began five years ago." He quickly brought his friend up-to-date on the whole conception thing. "I knew something's been off since yesterday, but I couldn't put my finger on what," he finished.

"Hm..." she walked slowly while thinking over the new information. "Hollows are completely ruled by instinct, even we Arrancar tend to revert back to that during times of stress; for instance during mating season. Since shinigami aren't normally instinctive beings, I can see how you might have missed a step that we take as naturally as breathing." She smiled as she looked at the younger man at her side. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. You'll probably revert back to normal once you finish the final steps."

He huffed out a deep sigh, "I hope you're right."

* * *

Grimmjow was handling his side of the interrogation in his own unique way. "Goddamn it Pineapple, if you've broken the best sparring partner I've ever had, I swear I'll make you regret it!" he growled as he kept his eyes on the two ahead of them.

"What the fuck're you talking about?" Renji glared at the Arrancar walking next to him. "How could I break him? You're not making any sense!"

"Really?" the bluenette sneered. "Well it seems ta me that you've whipped him good. Just look at how meek he's actin'! Kurosaki don't do meek an you know it!"

Renji frowned but watched his mate for a minute and realized what Grimmjow was referring to. Ichigo was acting timid and it **wasn't** normal. Hallibel patted the younger man on his shoulder and Renji suddenly wanted to take him back away from her. He growled and took a step forward to only feel Grimmjow grasp his upper arm and hold him still.

"Tha's enough Red," he hissed low into the other man's ear. "She ain't hurtin' him or takin' him away from ya; calm down." Renji stopped in his tracks and the Arrancar relaxed his hold a bit.

"What am I doing?" the red head gasped. "I wanted to..." he trailed off.

"Rip her heart out?" Grimmjow asked with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk.

Renji nodded, "Yeah. That's not normal for me."

"Neither of ya are actin' normal right now. Yer actin' like hollows and I gotta say, yer freakin' me out."

Shortly after that exchange the four arrived at the Squad One barracks and the two Arrancar departed; leaving behind two very confused shinigami.

* * *

**A/N: Like the last one, this was more of a building chapter. Sorry if it wasn't exciting, but it was necessary! ^^**

**Heika – Shawlong Qufang – soldier, tactician, strategist**

**Kasairyuu - Edrad Leones – Fire dragon**

**Ryuugoro - Nnoitra Jiruga – Dragon spirited fifth son **

**Hei Kiba - Tesla Lindocruz – tusked warrior**


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter turned out a bit longer than the last two. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Ichigo groaned as he flopped onto the sofa, "What's happening to us, Renji?"

The red head heard the soft question as he grabbed a couple drinks from the kitchen, "Beats me, Ichigo." He handed one can of soda to his mate and then nudged him up so he could sit too. He sipped his drink as he thought through his conversation with the blue haired menace. "They said we're acting like hollows. That makes sense for you, I guess; but why me?"

Ichigo bristled, "What do you mean it makes sense for me? **Nothing** about this makes sense! I've never acted like this before...and I don't like it!"

"I know, Ichigo," Renji sighed as he adjusted the younger man until he was nestled back to front and between Renji's parted legs. The older man began to gently massage Ichigo's mating mark and Ichigo automatically relaxed into the touch. Renji smiled as he nuzzled the soft, spiky hair in front of his nose when his mate began to purr. He was grateful that such a simple act could calm his volatile lover so quickly. He never did it to win an argument or to push dominance, but when Ichigo was agitated, it made life so much simpler for them both.

"Renji is it ok with you if I check out for a minute?" he asked suddenly.

"You want to talk to Zangetsu?" at the younger man's nod he assured him it would be fine. "I'll be here when you get back."

Ichigo sighed and stilled himself against his sturdy lover, feeling secure as he sank into his inner world. When he opened his eyes, he thought he must have taken a wrong turn somewhere because this place was far from what his inner world usually looked like.

"What...the...hell...?" he trailed off as he saw both Zangetsu's in the distance. He flash stepped over to where the two beings were. As he arrived he saw that they were looking out and up at what appeared to be a volcano rising in front of them.

"King...how long do ya think this is gonna take?" his white copy asked as he stared up at the rising mountain.

"You're asking me? How am I supposed to know?" he asked as he joined them.

"My favorite building used to stand there," the old man sighed rather forlornly as he stood beside the other two and continued to watch the rising land take shape.

They heard footsteps behind them right before another voice spoke, "My favorite glade is now a raging waterfall." The other three turned as one and stared at the nue as he joined them. He looked at Ichigo fondly, "I wouldn't worry too much, things are taking shape very quickly. There's not much left to combine."

Ichigo frowned as he looked at the spirits who now shared his inner world... No, make that his and Renji's inner world. "Our personalities have started to change. Hallibel likened our actions to that of mated hollows. Do you guys know if this is going to be permanent?"

The two spirits that made up Zangetsu looked at each other contemplatively before turning to Ichigo, "You see what's happening in here, partner?" the hollow asked. "Your buildings 'er merging with Red's jungle and new things that neither world have ever contained 'er popping up everywhere," he continued without waiting for an answer.

"The way you're both acting is an outward manifestation of the internal changes," the old man broke in. "They'll probably subside once the turmoil in here stabilizes."

"Just look at this place, King!" the hollow glared. "Tha whole place is getting wrecked and then reformed, practically hourly! Just when we think things're settling down, another tree pops up through the windows of one of tha buildings. It was cool at the beginning but now it's just making me...itchy."

Ichigo watched his hollow flinch as another crash sounded and water began to pour over one of the buildings further down from them. "Maybe it'd make more sense if you two combined again...at least until all of this is over."

The old man shook his head, "He was making **me** crazy, that's why we separated. I needed a break from his nerves." Ichigo could only shake his head. The two spirits usually got along better than this. No wonder he needed his mate more now. At that thought he remembered, "Hey, guys...is this why Renji's acting all dominant hollow all of a sudden?" His only response was three impatient nods as the zanpakuto spirits went back to watching the re-creation of their home.

Ichigo decided to shut up for the moment and look around his new inner world. It was beautiful; wild and overgrown. There was an abundance of plant life that had never existed before. He could still see the buildings that surrounded him but they seemed more the building blocks of this new world than the focal point. Right in front of him there was the now cooling mountain. As he watched he saw small wildflowers and grass begin to sprout along it. In a matter of moments the lower area was covered in a lush carpet of color while the pinnacle shot up into the clouds that sailed past. Before his world had seemed on it's side but now it was right side up with ground beneath and sky above...although for some reason the buildings were as they had always been: on their sides, under his feet.

To his right was pure jungle; he could just barely see the waterfall Zabimaru was complaining about in the distance. To his left he could see mostly buildings with no overgrowth. It seemed that the point on which he stood was where the two worlds met and the changes were spreading out from here.

"How much longer do you three think it'll take?" he asked the spirits standing beside him.

"Not much longer King," his white copy answered.

"This is happening much faster than any of us anticipated," the old man added.

"...It seems to increase every time you two play together," Zabimaru added. "The more often you have sex, the faster it occurs. Needless to say, you two have been **very **busy lately," he laughed at Ichigo's blush.

"Knock it off, Zabimaru!" he was flushed scarlet as he faded back to the outer world and woke up in Renji's lap. Renji was still holding him securely, patiently waiting for him to come back when he flailed awake. "Damn your zanpakuto!" Ichigo yelled as he stood up, still blushing.

Renji grinned at him, "What'd he say?"

Ichigo huffed and sat back down, "Nothing important." He leaned into his mate's chest and let Renji's arms wrap around him again as he lay flush against the larger body underneath him. "Our...personality changes are probably due to our worlds merging. I guess that was obvious." Renji grunted in agreement. "Hopefully we'll go back to normal after the rearrangement finishes."

Renji thought for a moment, "Did they have any idea why this is happening so intensely?" Ichigo grunted, his ears turning red as he mumbled too low for Renji to catch. "What was that, Ichi? I couldn't hear ya."

"Well...you know how horny we've been lately?" At Renji's nod he continued, "Every time we make love the combining happens faster."

"So every time we have sex..." Renji trailed off with a grin, thoroughly enjoying Ichigo's embarrassment.

"It speeds up our inner world's transformation," Ichigo sat up and spoke very fast, trying to get it over with as quickly as possible. "And the faster **that **happens, the weirder **we** act."

"But we should go back to normal once it's complete?" Renji wanted to be sure he understood.

"Yeah."

"What do you want to do?"

Ichigo finally shook off his embarrassment and grinned, "Wanna go for a record?"

* * *

Later that day, after the children had finally been sent on their way, Byakuya sat down in his garden near the koi pond to relax. He was exhausted from the impromptu play date and had been thinking over what Ichigo had said. He had no illusions about whether the same process would work; he figured it wouldn't. He also wasn't convinced it was a good idea for his lover, Kenpachi Zaraki, to actually **have** kids. The man had his insane moments that convinced Byakuya that one of him was more than enough. Then he would turn around and be so caring and...gentle that it would blow Byakuya's resolve completely out of the water.

He thought back to the day when he first realized that his disgust of the man hid a rather large amount of lust. They were in Hueco Mundo fighting that useless lump of an Arrancar, Yammy, and neither wanted to step back from the fight to let the other finish it. Once Yammy went down the last time they decided to turn their pent up frustrations onto each other. Byakuya had convinced himself that he had to teach Zaraki a lesson and once Kurotshuchi had gone about his business, he flew at the bigger man in a rage.

Zaraki met his attack and turned it against him by grabbing him by the throat and throwing him onto the sandy ground; pinning him there. He had Byakuya trapped under his body before the raven could even blink and was ravishing his mouth before any protest was made. Byakuya found himself kissing back before his brain could catch up with his body and by the time the day was done he had been well and truly claimed by the Demon of Zaraki.

No one understood the attraction between them, least of all the Kuchiki Clan leader. At first Byakuya had tried to convince himself that it was only lust due to him remaining celibate for so long. It took months after the end of the war for him to even acknowledge **that** much. The very idea that he actually had **feelings** for the large man was laughable.

Nearly dying at the hands of the Quincy changed all that and brought him to his senses. When he awoke and had heard Zaraki was in one of the beds nearby, he'd nearly given his healers heart attacks by trying to get to him. They'd had to move him into the bed next to him in order to get the noble to calm down again. The clan elders had not been pleased with this arrangement, especially after the giant had woken up. One day they had come to visit and found a rather heated make-out session going on in Zaraki's bed. Byakuya knew there was no going back after that and found to his surprise that he didn't want to.

They fought constantly, always teasing and ridiculing each other until neither could see straight. And then as soon as they were alone, they couldn't keep their hands to themselves, ripping through clothing until nothing was left but skin on skin.

It hadn't taken the smaller man long to realize that Zaraki was turned on by fighting. Whether it was physical or verbal, any act of disagreement got him going. Byakuya had learned very quickly just when to pick his fights with his lover. Kenpachi had no conception of embarrassment or privacy. He could go at it anywhere and in front of anyone...and almost had a couple of times. 'Poor Rukia.'

The noble came back from his reverie with a start as he saw Kenpachi heading toward him and he repressed a shiver at the aura the man exuded. It was a well-guarded secret that he adored the way the bigger man could dominate him. He'd never admit it to another soul but he was probably a closet masochist and Zaraki was his Alpha.

"Well Hime that was fun, huh?' came the gravelly voice that made him shiver with desire.

"Yes it was, but I have to wonder why you brought them **here**," was his quiet question with the lift of an eyebrow in amusement.

Zaraki cleared his throat, "Well, ya know I'm not much for romantic shit 'n all..." He drifted off and Byakuya could have sworn there was a slight blush across his cheeks. "I know how you've been wanting to have a family and how that's kind a impossible to have with me. So, I was thinking that we could...kind of...maybe..." he trailed off into a confused silence, trying not to make eye contact with his noble lover.

Byakuya was, by this time, leaning forward in order to catch what his lover was saying but the man's voice had fallen to a whisper. "What?" he finally asked with some impatience when he realized the big oaf wasn't going to continue.

Kenpachi took a deep breath and finally choked out, "Whatdoyouthinkofadoption?"

It took a minute for the raven to translate but once he figured out what the other man had said he stood up to turn his barbarian towards him, "Adopt?"

"Yeah, look at all those brats who don't have anyone to love them...guide them. It'd suck if they ended up turnin' out like me...ya know?" he cleared his throat and looked down at his hands. "I know you want some rug-rats of your own, but as long as you're with me that won't happen. And I'm sorry, but I'm not selfless enough to give you up. So what do you think about adopting a couple of Wakahisa's kids?" By this time his ears were bright red and Byakuya was reminded of just why he loved this maniac so much.

"Is this your way of saying you want a family with me?" he quietly asked as he leaned toward his lover to wrap his arms around the bigger man's waist.

"Yeah," Zaraki sighed as he leaned into the embrace and kissed the shorter man. "I can't think of anyone I'd rather have a family with." Of course the sweet moment didn't last. As the kiss deepened, Byakuya felt large hands begin to knead his ass and before long Kenpachi had lifted the now moaning noble; who had to wrap his legs around his lover in order not to fall. As the two ground together and the temperature between them rose, the Demon of Zaraki strode toward their bedroom to once again lay his claim.

Kenpachi threw Byakuya onto their bed before launching himself over the top of him. They became a mass of hands, lips, and teeth as they furiously began to shed each other's clothes; never breaking contact as their hands and lips roamed across each other. The bigger man couldn't help but be glad that Byakuya favored yukatas when he wasn't on duty; much easier access. It didn't take as long to get to the good stuff. He pulled away only long enough to re-position himself between the smaller man's legs.

Byakuya quickly wrapped them around his lover's hips drawing him back toward him. As Kenpachi lowered himself to suck at Byakuya's throat, where it met his shoulder, the noble arched into the intense sensation and blindly groped under his pillow for the lube. For once he was grateful to Yoruichi for being...well, Yoruichi; she'd begun giving it to him as soon as she realized who his lover was. After the first use, he'd completely switched from the oil they'd used before to the convenient tube of lube. He tossed it to the bigger man, who caught it effortlessly with a grin against his throat. "Impatient much?" he chuckled as he pulled away.

"More like, 'don't you dare try entering me again without it!'" he frowned in mock aggravation.

"It only happened once," Zaraki grinned feral. "'Sides at the time, you weren't complaining!" He reached his now prepped fingers down and around to begin prepping his lover.

"May...mm...be no-o-t bu...ah...oh yes! I cared la-a-a-ter. Gods, hurry up!" he panted as his lover's fingers fiercely thrust into him.

"Nag, nag, nag," Zaraki said as he re-positioned himself to enter the smaller man. As harshly as he acted, he always took the first breach slowly, being careful not to damage the other man. Once Byakuya indicated he was ready, Kenpachi's pace quickened rapidly as he listened to Byakuya's cries for more and faster. The smaller man could always take everything he dished out and Zaraki loved to let loose on him. Even though neither man wanted the end to rush towards them too soon, they both came quickly with shouts of ecstasy; Byakuya cresting first and wrenching Kenpachi's orgasm from him quickly after.

* * *

About an hour later the two were sprawled over Byakuya's bed, panting from their continued exertions. Kenpachi rolled over to pull the slighter man towards him and he asked, "So what were you and Kurosaki talkin' about when we showed up? You two looked kinda cozy."

The raven cocked an eyebrow at his lover and gave a slight chuckle, "I don't know about cozy, he was telling me the latest development in his and Abarai's relationship."

"Damn, you two are acting more like girls every day - Ow! Shit, I didn't know he was into sharing personal stuff," Zaraki said rubbing his shoulder where his lover had punched him.

"Shut up, Baka! He isn't. I asked," he explained, glaring.

"Why?" Zaraki asked as he sat up to get a bit of distance to watch the younger man.

Now it was Byakuya's turn to hesitate, "I was...curious about them...being able to have kids themselves." The last part was said softly as he closed his eyes and waited for the laughter to start. It never came and after a moment he cracked an eye open to see his lover's reaction.

There wasn't one, well not much of one. Zaraki was sitting with a scowl on his face, waiting for the rest. Byakuya sat up too and leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest defensively. "It takes a soul binding to make them fertile. I wanted to know if it was possible for two regular male shinigami to achieve this and he thought one would have to be either a Visored or an Arrancar for it to work. I tend to agree with his assessment." Before he could dig himself in any deeper, Kenpachi grasped his chin and turned him to look his way.

"You want to actually have kids with **me**?" were the first words out. The next were, "Are ya crazy!?"

Byakuya jerked away as if he'd been burned, "I suppose I am." He jumped out of bed and slipped on a yukata, "I'd have to be crazy to want to have a family with the one person in the whole of Soul Society I want to have a future with. What **was** I thinking?" He was turned away so he only heard when Zaraki got out of the bed. The next thing he felt were strong arms wrapping around both his waist and chest, bringing him flush against the bigger man.

"That's not what I meant, calm down Hime," was whispered in his ear.

"Stop with the nickname already!" he yelled angrily as he tried to get away. "I'm no one's princess!" He finally gave up struggling. He wasn't getting free unless the bigger man let him go.

"I'll stop callin' you one when you stop actin' like one!" was the quick retort. "Now calm down. I've told ya I'm no good with romantic shit. Hear me out." He finally let Byakuya go once he received a slight nod from the smaller man. "Having a family together I get. The thing that blew my mind was the soul binding. You know that once that's done there's no escape from it?" he asked with a sharp look at his lover.

"Of course I do! But if that's-" he was interrupted.

"Shut up for a minute and let me finish!" Zaraki roared. Byakuya sat down on the edge of the bed, pressing his lips together in a thin line. He waved for the bigger man to continue.

Zaraki knelt down before him and tilted his chin so they could look each other in the eye, "Why would you want to bind yourself to me like that? I'm broken. You know I am. Sure I put myself back together, but from where I come from...what I did to survive...killing... After a while I **enjoyed** it...loved doing it. I still do. I only began to modify my actions after Yachiru came into my life, before that...I really was a monster." He looked at Byakuya very seriously, "I wouldn't wish a soul binding with me on my worst enemy. I certainly don't want that for you. One of these days you're gonna have enough of me and come back to your senses. When that happens I want you to have the freedom to walk away," he was still glaring fiercely but his touch had gentled.

Byakuya grasped the hand cupping his chin and nuzzled his cheek into it, "You're not the only one who has been broken and put themselves back together again. What you've failed to understand is that the last time I had a chance to walk away from you was in Hueco Mundo. From that point on I was bound to you, as surely as if we were actually bound. The only one in this relationship who has **ever** had the freedom to leave is you."

A glint of humor shone in the bigger man's eyes, "So your saying...I spoiled you for anyone else?"

Byakuya sighed and nodded, never breaking eye contact, "You could put it that way."

"You really want to give this binding thing a chance? What if it doesn't work?"

"It probably won't," Byakuya sent a small smirk toward his lover, "but Ichigo did say the sex could be amazing."

A wicked glint came into Zaraki's eyes, "Ya don't say?"

* * *

"Come in Mayuri, it's good to see you this evening," Kyouraku smiled as the Squad Twelve Captain stomped in.

"I'm sorry Sotaicho, but I don't have time for niceties tonight. Could you get to the point?"

'When do you ever?' he thought dourly. "Fine, if I must," Kyouraku gestured to the seat in front of his desk. "The subject of Aizen's and Granz's research came up recently. I was curious about how the hogyoku might have affected the Arrancar created from it. When Hallibel was asked if I could see the data, she said it all disappeared after the Winter War. I was hoping you had acquired it for the Gotei 13."

Kurotshuchi steepled his fingers as he considered the Sotaicho's words. He was more than a bit miffed. At the time of the war he had acquired Granz's research after his battle. When he finally went hunting for Aizen's lair, he never found the data he so desperately wanted. "I wish I had the news you seek, Sotaicho. I did present your predecessor with Granz's research, but I was never able to find Aizen's," he spit out.

"Really," Kyouraku watched the man closely. He was a pretty good judge of when someone was lying and Kurotshuchi was horrible at it. He was pissed off enough to be telling the truth.

"Yes. I can't tell you how long I searched through Aizen's belongings but I never found it. I decided he'd either burned it or someone else got to it first," he ground his teeth.

"I take it you have an idea who might have taken it?" the Sotaicho asked shrewdly.

Mayuri glared balefully as he snarled, "Kisuke Urahara."

* * *

**A/N: How did you guys like Kenny and Bya? Were they too OOC? Considering how complicated those two are, I think what I did made sense. At least I like how it came out and I'd enjoy opinions. ^^ **


	8. Chapter 8

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

The next morning Kyouraku slowly made his way over to the Squad Six barracks. He had a sneaking suspicion that his next orders weren't going to be met with total approval by either of the top two officers of the squad. He knew why Byakuya would disapprove; he hated losing his fukutaicho for any length of time. Ichigo, on the other hand always enjoyed having an excuse to visit the World of the Living. This time, though... It was a feeling, more of an intuition than anything else and it stumped him. He couldn't for his life fathom why Ichigo might have a problem with getting the chance to catch up with his friends and family. Sighing as he reached the office door he shook his head, 'I'm getting old,' he thought and then he knocked for admittance.

"Come in Sotaicho," Byakuya said and the older man took a deep breath as he opened the door.

"Good morning gentlemen," he said as he moved to sit in the chair opposite the captain's desk. "I'm sorry to butt in so early in your day, but I have a favor to ask of Ichigo."

The youngest man in the room looked up questioningly, "What can I do for you, Shunsui?"

The question had Kyouraku grinning in delight and Byakuya frowning in irritation at the same time. The Sotaicho got tired of all the formality he'd experienced since his promotion. No one else called him by his first name other than Jushiro, and he only when they were private. Sometimes he thought he'd eventually forget what his original name was but for his lover and this boy.

"It seems Kurotshuchi did find Granz's work but not Aizen's. When I checked the archives I was able to locate Granz's notes, I don't know why I never checked there before. However he never did any work with the hogyoku, that was completely held in Aizen's domain."

"Damn, you're sure Kurotshuchi's not lying?" Ichigo asked, looking sharply at the Sotaicho.

"Kurosaki, watch your impudence! Gotei officers do not lie," Byakuya began only to get a snort from both of the other men in the room.

"Oh yes we do," and "Of course they do," came from the two simultaneously. Ichigo continued, "If Mayuri thought he could get away with it, he'd lie **all **the time!"

Before Byakuya could truly build up to his usual rant about respect Kyouraku cut in, "Fortunately he's a horrible liar. I can always tell, even if I can't always prove it. However this time he was telling the truth. He was infuriated that he'd missed his opportunity to steal Aizen's notes when he had the chance."

"So where do we look now?" the orange head asked.

"He seemed to think that Kisuke might have acquired them."

"It's possible," Ichigo said thoughtfully. "He was there after the end of the battles, so he might have gotten lucky enough to locate them. He'd know how to use the information as well. So what happens next?" he asked reluctantly, almost certain he knew the answer.

Kyouraku gave him a huge smile, "I'd like you to go and ask him!"

'Knew it!' he thought as he shook his head. "Like he'll tell me," he humphed. "Kisuke won't let anything slip he doesn't want to let slip, you know that."

"Are you telling me you don't want to grab at the chance to go see your family?" Kyouraku cocked an eyebrow at the younger man.

"No, I'm not saying that," he began reluctantly. "It's just...the timing could be better," he admitted with his usual scowl returning.

"Well, I'm sorry. I need you to go, you'll know if he's withholding information whereas anyone else might miss it."

"In other words you believe that I've got a good bullshit detector when it comes to Kisuke."

"I know you do."

* * *

By the time the Senkaimon opened onto the front entrance of Urahara's Shoten, Ichigo was feeling better about having to come home while leaving Renji in the Seireitei. They had agreed to try and meet in their inner world while Ichigo had to be away. Since the orangette had been able to interact with Zabimaru last time, they hoped they would now be able to as well. The red head was also convinced that the time away might help curb their growing hollow behavior as well.

"Think about it Ichigo. We're acting this way because we've been playing too much. If we're not solidly together every chance we get...maybe things will settle a bit."

"Supposedly," the younger man sighed, "and you may be right, Ren. I just feel very nervous about being separated right now. What if I lose control? I could devastate Karakura before anyone could react. I don't like it." He leaned in to his lover who wrapped his arms around him tightly.

"Meet me tonight in our inner world," Renji kissed his temple. "While we're apart, it'll be good to work on our connection there, don't you think? It might also help keep you on an even keel."

Ichigo glared, "Shut up!" Renji laughed as he kissed him goodbye.

"I love ya, baka. Be sure to hug the girls for me and try to have fun...'k?" Ichigo smiled softly despite himself.

"I'll do my best."

So now here he was, walking through the gate and being met by Hat and Clogs at the front door of the Shoten. "Kurosaki-kun! It's great to see you," he called out while waving his fan at the young man.

"Hey, Kisuke. How's it going?" he asked with a smirk as he was shown inside. The two continued to the back room where Urahara always saw his guests, catching up on news and some gossip; Kisuke was hopeless.

"Now, what can I do for you?" the blonde asked once the two were seated at the round table that dominated the room. Ichigo grinned.

"Right to the point then?" At the older man's nod he continued, "First, is my family in town? I have some news I'd like them to hear from me." Before he could continue, Kisuke reached out to examine his ring finger.

"Yes, I can see how that might be necessary," he commented gaily, while fluttering his fan in front of his wicked smile. "When did Freeloader-san ask you?"

"A couple days ago," the younger man answered with a small smile. "This was the earliest I could make it over."

"Well, as far as I know, Isshin's in town; of course the girls are both away at University but they may be able to come home before you leave."

"Ah, crap! I forgot about that!" he shook his head at his forgetfulness. "Well, at least I can bring Dad up-to-date."

"As well as your friends, I take it?" the blonde asked with a twinkle. "And may I say that it's about time! We had bets on when he'd finally pop the question." He sat back looking a bit miffed; Ichigo guessed he'd lost the bet.

"This wasn't the first time he'd asked. It was just the first time I took him seriously and said yes," he returned.

"For the Pineapple, that's the same thing," came Yoruichi's sultry voice behind him.

Ichigo grinned as he turned to face her. "I take it you won?" he asked when he saw her 'cat that ate the cream' look.

"You know it!" she chirped as she sat down next to Urahara.

"Now what was the other reason?" Kisuke asked once she had settled after oo-ing and ah-ing over the ring.

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck and looked embarrassed as he tried to figure out the right way to approach his main objective. "A situation popped up in the Seireitei that we aren't sure how to handle. You both know about the orphanage in District Seventy-Eight that the Kuchiki Clan had built a few years ago?" At both their nods he continued, "It was recently attacked. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt," he hurried to reassure them when they reacted to the news. "Both Jushiro and Shunsui were there and helped Hisoka and Koyoute defend the kids. However something came out during the battle. Shun and Juu are convinced that some of the children are the Espada and Fraccion we defeated during Aizen's war."

"Whaaat?" Urahara sat forward abruptly. "What do you mean, Ichigo?"

He quickly explained how the two taichos had recognized Starrk within Koyoute as well as his and Renji's suspicions about some of the younger children. By the time he'd finished his rather long explanation both were frowning in concern.

"But high level hollows..." Yoruichi began as Ichigo started to nod.

"Yeah they explained that to me when everyone started to get carried away. That's why I'm here. We need to know if this transformation could have been caused by the hogyoku?" he turned to Urahara.

The blonde was frowning, "Wasn't Aizen's research helpful?"

Ichigo looked disappointed, "I have no clue. We were hoping you had it."

* * *

As Ichigo stared at the front door of his family home much later that day, he sighed, for what seemed like the thousandth time. Before coming home he had convinced himself that Kisuke had found the research; he just had to have found it! Now the young man new better and he was back to square one. Urahara's reaction had been too real to be faked.

"What do you mean?" the blonde had asked ominously.

"Mayuri doesn't have it. Shunsui is convinced of that...said that Mayuri was a horrible liar and this time he was telling the truth," Ichigo had answered promptly. "So if **he** doesn't have it and **you** don't...then who does?"

The ex-taicho jumped up and began to pace and mutter while the other two sat and watched him bounce back and forth as if they were watching a tennis match. "If Kurotshuchi didn't get it, who did? By the time I got to Aizen's lab it had been thoroughly ransacked; there was nothing of **any** value left. I just figured Kurotshuchi had beaten me to it. Damn!" he paced some more, thinking. Ichigo risked a glance at Yoruichi and then back at Kisuke when he began to speak again.

"You say these children are miniature versions of the advanced hollows we fought and killed?" the blonde looked sharply at the young man.

"Yes, they are."

"How exact?" At Ichigo's confused look he sighed impatiently and clarified, "How complete are they?"

"Well, they look like pint-sized human versions of the originals. For instance, take Yuki. He's all of four, still a toddler, but he has pitch black hair, huge green eyes, pale skin, and a very solemn personality. He's the spitting image of Ulquiorra but human; no markings under his eyes, no hole of course and he **has** emotions but they aren't very obvious. He also has an incredible amount of spirit pressure."

"So extremely similar if not actually exact," Kisuke repeated with a nod.

Ichigo nodded, "They are obviously wholes but..."

"But they shouldn't be," the blonde finished. "Not that complete. And not with that kind of reiatsu."

Shortly after that, the younger man had been dismissed and sent on his way; Yoruichi assuring him that she'd let everyone else know he was back in town. Then Urahara had shut himself in his lab and she had pushed Ichigo out the door and slammed it in his face. So here he was now, waiting for his father to notice he was there and open the door for him.

In his current form he could actually walk through walls but he felt that was...way too creepy. He wasn't sure what he might walk in on and he didn't want to end up scarred for the rest of his afterlife. Since he was only allowed to visit the World of the Living in his spirit form, he and his father had agreed that he wait outside until Isshin let him in, rather than he just flow in like a ghost. 'Even if that actually is what I am now,' he thought. 'The only problem is that the old man takes **forever** to open up!'

About then the front door opened and Isshin himself strolled out. He looked up and down the street as he stretched and then turned to follow his son, as Ichigo slipped inside.

* * *

Renji opened the door of his home later that day to let in his guest. He and Ichigo had decided that since the younger man was going to the Living World to let his immediate family and friends know about their engagement, then the red head should inform the Soul Society side of the family. He wasn't a huge fan of the Shiba council, but there was one member of the family that he looked forward to seeing and that was who he'd invited over for dinner.

"Good evening Kaede-sama," he greeted with a smile and bow as he let the older woman in. When she passed him, she whacked him upside his head.

"What have I asked you to call me, Renji-chan?" she glared. "Really, you are too young to be so forgetful!"

He grinned while rubbing away the smack, "I'm not forgetful Baa-chan. I was being respectful." He showed her out back to the garden, where they could enjoy the light breeze until dinner was served. "Ichi wanted to be here tonight, but he had a mission so I was asked to fill in for him."

"Ok, what have you and my grandson done **now**?" she asked with a wicked grin of her own. She loved all of her family of course, but Kaede had come to genuinely like her grandson and his lover. They were more family to her than most of the others in the clan and were always a fantastic source of entertainment.

About then, dinner was served and the conversation had to take a back seat until they were left alone again. Neither Ichigo nor Renji could get used to having servants under foot all the time, but the red head had to admit they came in handy when he needed the help.

As soon as they were served and left alone he answered her earlier question, "I asked him to marry me and he said yes." The Head Counselor looked at him sharply and watched him squirm for a minute before she sat back and smiled.

"Well it's about time! Well done, Renji." Her smile grew more predatory when she saw him relax in relief, "It took you long enough."

"It's not like it was the first time!" he glared defensively. "He just finally said yes. I mean, seriously, **why** is everyone saying that?"

The lady laughed outright at that, "I suppose you're right. If Ichigo had actually wanted to get married earlier he would have asked you already. I understand his hesitance, he was so young when he came here; but it **is** about time. A big wedding will help quiet the idiots on the council and soothe some of their ruffled feathers."

"Umm...wait a minute," Renji began to look anxious, "we weren't planning on a big event! We've seen all the preparations for Rukia's wedding and neither of us wants that. Just a quiet ceremony with direct family and our closest friends and that's it!"

Kaede said kindly but firmly, "It's ben centuries since our clan had a Head marry. You won't get out of it so easily. The family will want to see you two solidly married with no chance to back out...and that means a full noble wedding with all the bells and whistles."

The red head looked nauseous as he faintly asked, "What would they say if we eloped?"

* * *

"Masaaaki, our beautiful baby boy is home!" The orangette smirked when he heard his father wail from downstairs as he went to his room to 'change' into his gigai. He wasn't supposed to have one, but as long a he didn't wear it outside no one complained. This made it easier on everyone else who knew him; especially the Ishida children and Yuzu.

He sat up from his bed, stretching, "Man, now I get why Renji always complains so much." He got up and as he headed downstairs, he dodged his father flying past as he once again tried to 'sneak attack' him. "Dad, just give it a rest already," he sighed while shaking his head and grabbing some coffee from the kitchen. He brought an extra mug to the living room and as he passed, he kicked his father's leg to let him know. Isshin hopped up and sat down with his coffee as he watched the younger man curiously.

"Are all the curtains drawn?" Ichigo asked while he settled down.

"Of course," his father grinned, "no one will notice you. So why are you here and how long can you stay?" he began as he caught the glint of metal on the boy's ring finger.

"Officially, I'm here to get some information out of Kisuke about the hogyoku," he went on to give his father a rundown on the current situation in the Seireitei. "Unofficially, I wanted to let you know...Renji and I are engaged." Isshin's grin grew larger as he thoroughly checked out the ring on his son's finger.

"Well it's about time," he began but paused with an eyebrow cocked when Ichigo groaned.

"Et tu, Dad?"

"What? How many times has the poor boy asked you now? It's about time you put him out of his misery," Isshin humphed as he sat back.

Ichigo grinned in relief, "At least you're laying the blame on the right person. Everyone else has been blaming Renji for the delay."

The older man snorted, "Yeah, well I know you two too well to make that mistake. How long will you be here for?" he asked again.

"I need to go back in a week. Hopefully Kisuke will have something by the time I have to leave."

"I'll try to get the girls home for a visit before you have to head back. They'll never forgive me if I don't let them know," he rose to go to the phone and Ichigo got up to head to bed.

"I know it's not very late, but I'm pooped. I'll see ya in the morning, 'k?" He ran up the stairs when he saw his father's nod. Ichigo closed and locked his bedroom door before slipping out of his gigai and stowing it under his bed. He checked the clock and stretched out on top of the blankets. It was about time for him to meet Renji in their inner world and he was looking forward to see what would happen next.

He closed his eyes and let his mind drift into a meditative state. As he sank into a state of peace and non-being Ichigo began to hear water and...were there birds in here now? He sat up and yes he was really in their shared inner world but it had changed yet again. In addition to the new terrain and foliage, now there were birds, butterflies and as he looked around he thought he saw deer off to one side in the distance. He didn't see either Zangetsu or Zabimaru but he felt... Ichigo jumped up and headed for that familiar reiatsu with flash step.

From the side of the mountain the two zanpakuto spirits watched him bolt off to join Renji. "Should we go after him?" the re-combined form of Zangetsu asked the nue, with slight worry coming through in his voice.

"Nah," the baboon answered.

"Thissss issss sssomething they have to manage together," the snake continued. "We'd only be in the way."

The Arrancar version of Zangetsu frowned as he felt his partner join his mate, 'Good luck, Ichigo. I think you'll need it.'

* * *

Simultaneously in both Karakura and the Seireitei explosions of high level hollow-tinged reiatsu lit up the night sky.

"BOOM!"

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I know...I'm a bit evil! I try not to do cliffy's too often, they can get so irritating; however this time it was the best place to take a break. The next chapter is the...consummation of their inner worlds merging. ;-)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Ichigo flash stepped right into, and bounced off of, a solid glass wall. At least that's what it felt like. "Ouch!" he rubbed his nose as he stood up and approached his mate more carefully. He glared when he realized Renji was doubled over and laughing his ass off. "Shut up! It's not like I saw it there," he glared as he reached out until his hand flattened against the barrier.

"Damn, Ichi, you should have seen your face when ya hit!" the red head continued to chuckle. "Priceless!"

"Knock it off, Ren. I'm glad I'm so fucking entertaining!" he continued to glare; his nose hurt!

When Renji finally settled down he grinned at the younger man and approached him, "Didja break anything?"

"Don't think so," he answered while scrunching his nose adorably. "How do we get rid of this?"

"Not sure; it wasn't here until you showed up," he ran his hand over the invisible yet solid surface.

"So we still haven't completely connected yet," the younger man began to push against the barrier.

"I don't think brute force is gonna do it," Renji grinned as he watched his lover.

"Then what will?" Ichigo asked in frustration. The red head shrugged as he examined the barrier.

"This barrier's thin. It's not distorting either our voices or our vision. It won't take much to break through," he reasoned as he placed his hand palm-to-palm against where Ichigo's rested. "Why don't we try using our reiatsu? If we channel it into our hands and into the barrier at the same time, it might do the trick."

"You think? Renji, I'm still not very good at this shit," the younger man said nervously.

"Aw, come on, you've gotten a lot better over the years. This should be a piece of cake!" the red head grinned as his hand began to glow. Ichigo took a deep breath and tried to match Renji's output so their energy could synchronize.

Even though Ichigo was nervous, he **had** gotten better at controlling his reiatsu and matched Renji's output easily. As the two men began a slow buildup of pressure against the barrier, Ichigo couldn't help but notice how their energy was trying to merge but couldn't. As the barrier began to shimmer between them, he started to heat up. It began slowly at the crown of his head and then proceeded to flow down his body to pool in his groin, before continuing to flow down his legs. As he felt his own arousal he lowered his eyes and watched Renji's hakama begin to tent as the larger man started to breathe heavier.

"Renji..." he began with a strained voice.

"I know," the red head answered on a groan.

"This has to break soon," Ichigo was watching the barrier's shimmer become a shake as they both raised their reiatsu even more. They needed to be able to touch, the heat inside them was becoming unbearable.

By this time both their attention was on each other's reaction to the heat building between them. "Damn Ichi," Renji began as he stared while licking his lips in anticipation, "your cock looks like its aching, reaching out, for my touch...for me."

"Gods Renji...don't make this any worse!" Ichigo gasped as his body reacted to his mate's words. By now both men were leaning against the barrier, their reiatsu rising, struggling to reach each other.

Ichigo felt his intelligence begin to dissolve and heard an answering growl from his mate. He looked up just in time to see Renji's eyes darken from mahogany to almost ebony as he snarled against the barrier that was keeping them separated. The younger man's eyes changed to golden as he answered his mate's frustration with his own. When the two men raised their energy one last time, a crack sounded and the barrier gave way, turning into bits of sparkling dust.

When the barrier gave way, the two men reached for each other and their reiatsu spiked skyward to swirl together, combining in an almost furious way. A storm of energy surrounded them both as they practically attacked each other in the middle of their heat induced lust and need.

Renji threw Ichigo to the ground and before he could join him, the younger man leapt back up, snarling. Both men were raising their reiatsu, each trying to challenge the other. Behind a nearby ridge their zanpakuto spirits hunkered down, holding on for dear life and endeavoring not to be blown away by the energy storm raised by their masters.

Zangetsu suddenly gripped his head, crying out as his two halves were forcibly separated. Both spirits were writhing in pain until the separation ended; then the old man leaned over the younger hollow, shaking him. "What's happening? Tell me what I can do to help!"

Ichigo's pale doppelganger lowered his hands and lay there panting while he tried to unscramble his brain. "I think...they're both...drawing on my power," he gasped. When the worst of the pain seemed to diminish, he rolled over and cautiously raised his head over the ridge, closely followed by the baboon, the snake, and the Quincy. After a good look at what was happening down below, as one they all sank back down behind their temporary shelter.

"So, how long do you think **that's** gonna take?" the baboon asked with a slight blush across the bridge of his nose.

"Won't be long 'fore they have ta go back to their bodies and battle for real," the hollow answered. There was a slight popping noise and the wind instantly died down, "See, told ya so," he grinned as he began to fade out.

"What's happening now?" the old man was beginning to panic. Ichigo's hollow never just faded away, he always rejoined with him.

"S'ok, Zan. Told ya they were both using me. When they're done, I'll be back," the pale copy grinned as he disappeared.

"You'd better return, baka," the Quincy said worriedly.

* * *

The Visored's in both worlds recognized the rush of energy for what it was and hurried toward the two mates. In the Seireitei Shinji, Rose, and Kensei arrived at Renji's at the same time as Byakuya, Rukia, and Kyouraku. In the World of the Living Isshin broke down Ichigo's door moments before Love came through his bedroom window with Hyori following.

"What's happening to him?" Isshin shouted to Love over both the rush of energy flaring around the younger man, as well as his screaming.

"He and Red have finished joining their inner worlds! He shouldn't have been sent here right now, damn it. He needs his mate nearby and chances are Renji's having a similar problem too!" Love yelled back. "We need ta put them together and restrain them before their energy destroys them and everything else." He picked up the writhing man and took off through the window, yelling over his shoulder, "I'm heading to Kisuke's. It's safer there."

As the group from Karakura arrived at the Shoten, Urahara flung open the door and gestured them inside, "The others just arrived and went downstairs. Get him down there now!" No one needed to be told twice before they clambered down with their friend and comrade. Love placed him on the ground next to Renji who was thrashing and screaming in a similar manner.

The mixed group watched in fascination as Renji's red and Ichigo's white-blue reiatsu rose from around their bodies and began to dance in the air around them, slowly intertwining together and weaving into a net of combined energy that surrounded both men. Gradually their erratic movements and screams died down.

"It's beautiful," Rukia murmured, breaking the spell that surrounded the mixed group from both worlds.

"Well, I'm glad that's over," Shinji began only to be interrupted by Kensei.

"It ain't over, knucklehead. Just look at all that energy. If anything goes wrong, this town'll end up as a crater."

"Well, that's why these two are here," Shinji grinned as he gestured to Tessai and Hachi who got ready to contain the two shinigami until the worst was over. "Come on everyone. We need to give them room to maneuver," he continued as he began to herd the group back upstairs in order to give the two mates some privacy. He knew their guards would return before either man fully awoke, but he couldn't guarantee the rest of the fascinated audience.

"Ok, Hachi, how do we do this?" Tessai asked since he wasn't present when Love and Rose went through this part.

"It's very simple. We keep their bodies restrained until their minds return from their inner world. Once they come back, **we** get out of here, reinforce this room, and lock the door until all the howling and screaming is over. **Then** we heal whatever may need healing," he said very calmly as his former commander's eyes got bigger and bigger...

* * *

As Hachi was explaining downstairs, Shinji was filling everyone else in on what was happening, "It's been said before, but they need to finish the mating ritual. It looks like that's happening now."

Rose grumbled, "It certainly didn't take **them** long to finish." Love grinned at him.

"You're talkin' about Ichigo here. What'd you expect?" Rose just shook his head in disgust.

"Why did it take **us** so long?" the blonde taicho whined.

Isshin ignored their by-play, "So what does that mean? Why are they in pain?" He glared at Shinji, silently demanding straight answers. He wasn't the only one. Byakuya, Rukia, and the Sotaicho had similar expressions and were staring down the Visoreds as a group.

Shinji smiled softly as he began, "In Hueco Mundo mating season can be very violent. When a hollow pair decide to mate it's all about strength; whether the Alpha is strong enough to protect the Beta. It's in the Beta's nature to force the Alpha to take them. It's a test and it's all instinctive. Considering how strong Ichigo and Renji are, this could take a while and one or both of them will probably end up injured."

He continued as the reiatsu from downstairs continued to rise, "It's **all** about strength and dominance, proving who's stronger and Renji's going to have his work cut out for him. Knowing his personality, he's going to fight those instincts because he won't want to hurt Ichigo. However with Ichigo's hollow nature, he's going to have to suck it up and take care of business or risk his own life."

Rukia sank onto her knees, "He's going to be killed..."

"Do not underestimate Renji, Rukia," Byakuya spoke softly as he admonished his sister. "He is more than capable of taking care of himself." He then turned to Shinji, "I am curious though. Ichigo has hollow instincts but Renji does not...so why is he acting this way?"

Shinji's smile got bigger and a bit evil, "Obviously their inner worlds have merged. He's drawing on Ichigo's hollow now as well. ...Actually the hollow may have overwhelmed his consciousness for the time being." He paused with a frown as he considered his own words, "That actually may be for the best right now. If it's true, he won't hesitate to claim what's his."

Isshin shook his head, "I **don't** like the sound of that."

* * *

The two men stirred as one within the kido box Hachi and Tessai had erected around them. They weren't paying any attention to whoever else might be in the room. The two ex-kido corps members silently rushed up the stairs and as Renji lunged at Ichigo, they released the box and slammed the trap door in the ceiling. Then they performed an even wider range spell to effectively turn the downstairs training room into a bigger kido box and sighed as they sank to the floor exhausted.

Downstairs Ichigo dodged Renji's forward motion. It didn't do much good since Renji anticipated it and veered to cut him off. When he grabbed the younger man's shoulders, he raised his reiatsu and pushed Ichigo down onto the floor, straddling his mate. Ichigo looked furious and struggled as he raised his own spirit pressure. Renji gave him a feral grin and raised one hand. The energy dissipated, much to his mate's shock.

The orangette tried again and Renji countered it again as he continued to grin at his younger lover. "Ya ain't gonna win Babe," he growled as he leaned forward to lick Ichigo's throat from the base to his ear.

"I won't just lay down and spread myself for you this time, Ren," came the answering growl.

Renji's eyes took on a darker look as he smiled, "You don't have a choice." He began to build up his reiatsu once more, using it to bear down on his lover and pin him in place.

It worked. Ichigo couldn't move no matter how hard he tried. And try he did. Renji kept the pressure up as he pulled away far enough to strip both himself and the younger man. Then he positioned his mate so he could have ease of entry with Ichigo's legs spread to either side of his thighs as he knelt between them. His smile took on an even more feral appearance as he arranged Ichigo's legs on either shoulder and then took a hold of the younger man's hips and thrust into him with one smooth move.

Ichigo howled as Renji's hold on his reiatsu wavered, the younger man trying to throw the other off. It didn't do any good as Renji regained control, leant forward and growled, "Mine!" in the younger man's ear before he began moving.

Ichigo threw back his head and groaned as the pace began to pick up. He was in a position that made it difficult for him to do anything but take the invasion. He could neither answer the thrusts or evade them. He'd honestly never been so turned on in his life but he kept snarling at his mate, refusing to admit it.

Renji came, quickly followed by Ichigo. Before the younger man could come down from the high he was riding, the red head flipped him onto his knees and re-entered him again, continuing to keep up the almost brutal pace. When Ichigo tried to struggle, Renji put one hand on the back of his head and pushed him down, leaning over his back he whispered into the other's ear, "Mine!" again. Ichigo snarled again but otherwise stayed in place.

The red head became fascinated watching his own cock continuously plunge into his mostly willing partner. His claiming of Ichigo sent a rush of lust through his body, making his arousal even harder and sending him over the edge quickly again. He plunged in deeply one last time and holding both of them still, he emptied himself again into his mate, noticing that Ichigo had reached completion a second time as well.

Once again Renji re-positioned the younger man onto his back with his legs wide before Ichigo wrapped them loosely around Renji's waist. His warm chocolate eyes still looked dazed and the red head smiled as he nuzzled against Ichigo's mating mark. The orangette sighed and ran his hands into the loosened red mane, pulling the man down to return the favor.

The gentle moment didn't last as Renji once more snarled and speared his mate, biting into the mating mark as he began to rapidly move. Ichigo screamed in ecstasy at the double stimulation and rose up to latch on to his lover's mating mark as well. Their energy rose exponentially with their arousal and as they came for a third time, their reiatsu crashed around them blowing out several lights upstairs and sending everyone ducking for cover.

When the two came down the final time they pulled away to look each other over, exhausted but more sated than either had ever felt before. Renji grinned, more or less back to normal and once more whispered, "Mine?" as he kissed and licked at the wound in his lover's neck while Ichigo nuzzled back as he nodded and answered, "Yours."

* * *

**A/N: Ok, guys...I'm ready to hear from you! Good? Bad? Horrible? I really am curious. ^^**

**I'd like to answer a2z here since I can't message back to the reviews left both for this story and The Mating Game. Thank you! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your input - both the positive and the negative. I like hearing what people think; both what they enjoy as well as what doesn't make sense to them. It helps me so much as a writer. : )**


	10. Chapter 10

**Warning: Somewhat graphic descriptions of injuries from the night before and mention of rape in the past. There was a very brief reference to this in The Mating Game.**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Renji was swimming in and out of consciousness, tossing and turning as he was caught in an extremely disturbing dream. He woke sitting straight up in bed, a cold sweat pouring off his body, "Ichigo!" He didn't realize he'd screamed his mates' name until the bedroom door was flung open and Tessai charged in to see what the matter was.

"Abrai-san, are you alright?" he asked breathlessly as he surveyed the room for damage.

Renji's heart rate began to slow back down to normal. "Yeah, where's Ichigo?" he asked tensely.

"Over here, baka," came the soft answer as the adjoining bathroom door opened and the orangette walked into the room. Renji noticed the bandages adorning the younger man's upper body. His mate's long legs were covered by sweat pants that were a little too big so he couldn't see if there was any additional damage.

"Are ya ok?" the red head asked a bit hoarsely. Tessai bowed his way out of the room, deciding it was better for the two to talk before any explanations were given.

"Yeah," Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck as he hobbled over to their futon and gingerly sat down. "I only woke up a bit before you. I haven't spoken to anyone else yet."

Renji carefully pulled the younger man into his arms and nuzzled his neck, trying not to press too hard into the bandage there. "What exactly did I do to you?" he asked a bit fearfully, remembering parts of the nightmare that had awoken him. "And how did I get here?"

Ichigo shrugged, "I don't know how either of us got here. Before you get too carried away about me, you need to take stock of your own injuries," Ichigo pointed out. Renji had even more bandages wrapped around his torso and arms as well as his upper legs. When the red head moved, he realized just how stiff he actually was.

"Do you remember what happened last night?" Renji asked his lover. Ichigo shook his head negatively.

"I'm drawing a complete blank." The door slid open and they turned to face Urahara, who was standing there sans fan and hat.

"When you two are ready, meet me in the back room and I'll try to fill in the gaps for you," he said seriously. "Don't worry too much. Your injuries weren't nearly as bad as Love's and Rose's were."

The two younger men looked at each other in trepidation as they got up and dressed. It didn't take long before they were seated around the same low table they'd sat at so many times during the Aizen conflict. Urahara poured the tea as Tessai served them a simple breakfast before sitting down beside his boss.

After taking a few bites of the delicious meal, Ichigo asked, "First how did we get here and second, what is it we aren't remembering from last night, Urahara-san?"

"Well, it wasn't last night, Kurosaki-kun. You finished your mating almost a week ago," the blonde replied and then held up a hand to keep the other two men quiet. "It took you two most of the night to finish up and once we were certain you were...ah...done, we brought you upstairs for healing. As for how you both ended up here, we'll discuss that later."

Ichigo and Renji just looked at each other as the blonde continued, "Hachi and Tessai performed the bulk of the healing. You were both banged up pretty badly. Abarai-san, your back was shredded and you had some deep lacerations and puncture marks down your chest and thighs as well, three broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and a broken wrist. Ichigo, you weren't in any better shape, You had deep puncture wounds to your neck and chest, probably caused from biting, a broken arm and dislocated hip...as well as anal tearing." the last part was said in a very low tone of voice since Urahara knew neither man would be happy to hear that part. "The good news is that neither of you needed either blood or reiatsu transfusions!" he added in a perky tone, hoping to distract the two younger men.

"That's the good news?" Ichigo asked disbelievingly. "It's not much!"

Renji nodded, feeling nauseous when he realized just how brutally he had treated his lover. He started to pull in on himself as he realized the nightmare that had woken him had likely been a memory of the other night. Ichigo noticed and wasn't having any of that. He scooted over to his lover and wrapped his arms around the bigger man.

"Ren," he began softly, "don't. We knew it wouldn't be an easy experience. There were warnings. It's probably for the best that everything's so fuzzy."

"Ichigo...I never wanted..." the red head paused, "It sounds like I practically raped you. I never wanted that! Never!"

Urahara piped up before either could get too depressed, "That's just how it is Abarai-san. In Hueco Mundo that's the way it is: survival of the fittest, what's wanted is taken, no permission given." He looked at the two sympathetically, "It could have been so much worse. Given the strength and stubbornness you two have, it was a miracle neither of you died. I'm not exaggerating!" he exclaimed when Renji looked doubtful. "The fact that the damage was so minimal," he ignored the dual snorts, "just shows how much you two really do love each other."

"Is this going to happen every heat now?" Renji asked quietly, not quite making eye contact with anyone in the room. Ichigo tried to reach out again but the red head flinched away, so he withdrew and looked at Urahara worriedly.

"No," the blonde answered with certainty. "This is a one-time deal. It's so violent because of the combining that takes place. Once that's done everything settles back down to normal." He was watching Renji carefully. The red head was taking the revelations much harder than he'd anticipated and he saw how uneasy Ichigo was becoming. He tried again to reassure the men, "It was probably easier for you two because you were sharing one hollow rather than drawing on the powers of two."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked curiously, his brow furrowing.

"We nearly lost Rose when he and Love finalized their union. Both men needed blood transfusions and Rose also needed a reiatsu infusion. They each have hollow powers so they had a lot more violent energy to draw from. You two were basically using the energy of Ichigo's hollow powers so the violence was cut in half." Both men nodded slowly in understanding.

"It's still not something I'm comfortable with, knowing I'm capable of..." Renji muttered as he stood up from the table. "I need to think." Ichigo began to stand and Renji backed up, "Alone." He turned and quickly left the room. He needed air and time. He didn't notice how his actions affected his lover, who looked as if his world was falling apart.

After Renji slammed out of the Shoten, Ichigo jumped up to follow but was stopped by a hand gripping his shoulder. "Kurosaki-kun, leave him be for a while," the blonde said with an understanding look at the younger man. "He needs some time."

Ichigo sighed in frustration, "I know! ...I** know**...but why can't he see that it's not a problem? I understood it could be bad and I thought he realized it too. I know he'd never hurt me under normal circumstances." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I can't even remember anything."

"Well, that might be true right now...but it could change, Ichigo." The older man patted him on his shoulder reassuringly, "I'm sure he'll come around. Eventually."

Ichigo glared, "If you're trying to make me feel better, it's not working!"

Urahara laughed, "Why don't you go see your father and let him know everything is back to normal, hmm?"

"Normal?" Ichigo asked incredulously. "There's nothing normal about this!" At Urahara's raised eyebrow, the orange head finally nodded with a huff, "Ok. I'll see you later. If Renji comes back before I return, will you let him know where I went?"

"Of course, Kurosaki-kun."

* * *

Renji found himself by the river. Sighing, he sat down with a thump and stared off into the distance. He wasn't so much looking at the scenery as he was looking back in time to when he was young and stupid in the Rukongai. Over the years he had only ever given the briefest of hints to Ichigo about what he'd done to keep Rukia, the other children, and himself alive back then. It had taken him years to come to terms with his choices and this incident was bringing everything back.

He heard a step behind him and whipped around to see Love standing there, looking at him curiously. Renji quickly wiped his eyes and faced front as the other man sat down beside him.

"Yo," the Visored said as he looked at the river. "How ya doin' Red?"

Renji snorted, "Fine. Peachy," he continued sarcastically, "I just found out I practically raped and brutalized my lover. How's your day going?"

Aikawa cocked an eyebrow at the younger man and looked at him over his sunglasses, "It coulda' been worse, Red. I almost killed mine."

Renji sighed as he slumped, "I know. It could have been much worse, and that scares the shit out of me. I love him! I've never wanted to hurt him...certainly not like **that**!"

The older man nodded, "I know what ya mean. I was scared the next time Rose entered his cycle, but it went fine. We went through two cycles after that before he got pregnant and everything was back to normal. Neither of us held what happened against each other and we never will. It's all a part of being Visoreds."

"Well he may not hold it against me...but I do," Renji looked away from the other man.

"If anything you had more physical damage done to you then he did."

"Yeah, well broken bones and bites are nothing in comparison. Have you ever been held down and dry fucked? No lube, and no prep?" At the other man's negative head shake he continued, "Well I have. There is no pain worse then that. It fucks with your head." His breath hitched as he continued, "I swore I'd never inflict that on any living soul...ever. And what did I do? I did it to the one person in **any** world I'd give my life to protect! As it stands now, I'm afraid to even touch him." The tears had begun flowing in earnest, "And even if he doesn't remember now, he will eventually. And he'll hate me for it!"

Love was silent as he processed what he'd been told. Finally he answered, "I don't think so. If he remembers, he'll be angry...and he might beat the shit outta you, but he won't hate you. You're forgetting the hollow factor here. That power and how it's linked to the two of you was the driving force behind that night. Ichigo knows that. He's had to live with this hollow for a long time. He understands the brutality behind that power much better than you. He expected the violence and is probably grateful neither of you were destroyed."

He paused a second before continuing, "As for the rest, if I were you, I'd tell Ichigo just what you told me. Explain where you're coming from so he gets why this bothers you so much. He'll understand."

Renji finally calmed down and wiped his face again. "It's not a place I like going to. I had no intention of **ever **telling him fully about that part of my past. Hell, even Rukia doesn't know the details about it."

The Visored grinned, "Rukia may be like a sister to you but Ichigo is your lover; your mate. He **needs** to know, she don't."

* * *

Isshin threw open the door to the house before Ichigo ever had a chance to let him know he was outside. The two men finally settled in the living room sipping cups of coffee as the elder Kurosaki fired question after question at his son.

"Jeez, old man, knock it off already! We're fine, the merging is complete. Once Urahara-san finishes with his research, we'll head back to Soul Society. Until then, hopefully Renji's staying here with me." Ichigo sat back and sighed.

Isshin looked over the rim of his mug, "So what's wrong?"

"During the...uh...merging, quite a bit of damage was done; on both sides. Renji's having issues with his part in it." Ichigo smiled sadly, "He's not a brutal man by nature and this threw him for a loop."

"Don't worry too much, Son. You two will work through it," his father smiled softly. He quickly sat forward and began to act his goofy self. "So when am I gonna be a grandpa!?"

Ichigo scowled, "How am I supposed to know? It'll happen when it happens!"

The big idiot ran over to his wife's poster, "Oh, Masaki! Our baby boy is grown up and going to be a..." he cut off and turned to Ichigo. "What will you be? A mommy or a daddy?" he asked in a normal voice.

His son could only shake his head at his father's complete lack of sanity, "I'm not a woman so I won't be a mommy!" He thought about it for a moment, "We'll be parents. I suppose our children will come up with something to call us. Dad and Father? Pops?" He shrugged, I don't know."

"Ok. Oh Masaki, he's going to be a Poppa!" he cried.

"Dad!"

* * *

Once Ichigo escaped his father's overattentive enthusiasm, he headed back to Urahara's. He was about a block away when he felt his lover's reiatsu and followed it to a nearby park. Renji was leaning against a tree as Ichigo entered. He stayed leaning until the younger man was right in front of him, and then he stood away and wrapped his lover in a snug embrace. It didn't take long for Ichigo to reciprocate and hug back.

"We need to talk, Ichigo," the red head murmured into his neck.

"Anytime, love," the orangette smiled in return. Renji pulled away and gripped one of Ichigo's hands as he led him to a secluded part of the park. Ichigo frowned at the serious expression on Renji's face. "If you'd rather not, that's fine too."

Renji sighed and sat down, pulling Ichigo down with him. He maneuvered the younger man into his lap with Ichigo's back pressed to his front. "This is something I never wanted to bring up with you...a part of my life I never wanted to share. However, I want you to understand why this is so hard for me."

Ichigo stayed quiet while Renji gathered his thoughts and then began. "When Rukia and I were kids, we ran with a gang. You remember what we told you about them?"

Ichigo smiled, "Yeah, your group stole so the younger kids could eat and survive."

"Yeah. As we got older, one by one they fell until only Rukia and I were left. We continued to support the younger children that gravitated to us. We worked hard to protect them. One fall several of the younger ones came down sick and we needed medicine to take care of them. One of the local **businessmen** offered Rukia a job. She had no clue what he wanted her to do for the money and she told me about the offer. I convinced her I could go in her place because it wasn't work she'd be able to complete. You see, Ichigo, I knew what he did for a living."

He paused and took a deep breath, "He ran a whorehouse. He was always looking for the sweet and innocent girls to defile. I'd heard the stories about him and I wasn't going to let that happen to her!"

"So you went in her place," it wasn't a question. Ichigo tried to turn around and look at his mate but Renji wouldn't let him.

"Don't. If you look at me now I won't be able to finish." Ichigo nodded and settled back against the older man.

"And yeah, I went instead. It wasn't too bad at first although all the clients were male. They weren't exactly decent, but they treated me well enough and I got paid **very** well. About a month after I began, the owner of the place took me aside and complimented me. He then told me there was a very special client that he wanted me to service and if I did well, he'd pay me triple what I'd been earning. I didn't think. It meant that I could stop and our group would have food and all the essentials through the winter months; so I agreed.

"It was the worst mistake of my life, Ichigo. The guy was good looking, in fact the best of the bunch when it came to looks and fitness. But he had a nasty kink. He loved taking unwilling, and unprepared, partners. He got off on the screaming," his breathing had become ragged by this time and his voice fell to a whisper. Ichigo swore he felt tears soaking through his shihakusho but he sat still and let his lover finish.

"It took him hours to tire of me. I was unconscious when he left and he made sure to leave me a sizable tip for 'being the best fuck ' he'd ever had. Rukia and I knew a woman who was talented with kido and she worked on me which is why I healed so well, but still...it took me weeks to heal."

By this time both men were crying; Renji for all the obvious reasons and Ichigo out of grief for what his lover had been through. "Renji..." he was finally able to turn to face the other man and wrapped his arms around his shaking shoulders and his legs around his waist. Once the shaking stopped he continued, "It's amazing that you could be intimate with anyone after that."

Renji barked out a harsh laugh, "It took a long time. Even longer before I could bottom again. You're the first partner I've regularly submitted to in decades. I love you so much, Ichigo." He sighed as he felt his lover's fingers stroking along his scalp. "It killed me this morning when I realized that I'd basically done the same thing to you that he did to me!"

Ichigo closed his eyes and thought, 'Now how do I answer **this**? How do I reassure him?' He continued to slowly run his fingers through the soft red hair. "It's not the same Renji. No, don't pull away," he added when he felt the other man stiffen. "Let me finish.

"I trust you with everything I am. On one level I had to force you to take what belongs to you...that would be me," he smiled. "But underneath I knew you would never willingly hurt me. That is an absolute. I am **not** traumatized, and I'm more than fine with the outcome. You completely answered my hollow's concerns and as weird as it sounds, you satisfied his need for me to be protected when he can't do it. I know without a doubt that when you're in your right mind that you would never ever hurt me like that."

Renji finally relaxed into Ichigo's arms and buried his face in the crook of his lover's neck. He sighed, inhaling the younger man's scent deeply. "You don't hate me and you're not afraid of me?" he asked tentatively.

"Of course I don't hate you and," here he snorted, "I have never ever been frightened of you."

"Okay...now, I don't know if I should be happy or insulted," the red head answered dryly.

Ichigo grinned in relief at how normal he sounded, "If I were you, I'd take it as a compliment."

* * *

**A/N: This chapter came about due to the lack of fighting and violence in the last one. ^^ I had a good build up but some thought the follow-through was a bit disappointing. That was fine with me and I took it to heart. Since I had no intention of re-writing chapter 9, it became the beginning of the action and the rest happened "off camera" with chapter 10 being the aftermath of the whole thing. I hope it worked. :)**

******I think this is the darkest chapter I've ever written. But it seemed appropriate here. It's also one of the most difficult I've ever tried to write. (Sighs...)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The two men made it back to the Shoten right before dark. Urahara was pleased to see that they seemed happier and more relaxed then when they had left earlier. He watched them with a slight smile...and then they were gone. He felt a breeze and heard a door slide shut. Even before he could turn, a privacy shield had been erected around the rooms the two were staying in. Urahara chuckled, 'Well there's at least **one** Kidō spell they've mastered.' He pulled his hat low over his eyes and went to ask Tessai to set two plates aside for his guests...whenever they decided they were hungry. For food.

* * *

Ichigo walked into the bathroom to fill the tub as Renji set the shield. Once the bath started filling the younger of the two dropped his clothes and began to peel off his bandages, noting the partially healed marks. Renji appeared in the doorway, looking a little lost as he watched his lover inspecting himself.

"Hey, Ren, come on in," Ichigo turned around with a small smile and one hand held out to him, invitingly. When the red head hesitated, Ichigo sighed and moved to stand in front of him. "Come here, I want to see how much damage I inflicted on you." Renji just rolled his eyes and finally entered the room.

"Ichigo," he groaned softly as his lover untied his obi and helped him step out of his uniform. The red head was covered in bandages and Ichigo needed to see what lay underneath.

As the two worked to remove all of the gauze, Ichigo finally got a good look at the injuries his mate had sustained. It wasn't pretty although he supposed it could have been worse. The worst of the damage had been done to Renji's back. It was covered with half-healed cuts and gashes. Due to the Kidō, Renji hadn't needed any stitches but some of the cuts would leave scars. "Renji, I'm...shit," the orangette began only to be stopped when his lover turned around to give him a gentle kiss.

"It's fine, Ichigo. I'm sorry too," he gave him a strained smiled. Stepping toward the tub he continued, "I feel like crap and want a soak. Join me?"

Ichigo answered with a smirk, "Anytime." He managed to get in first and Renji sank into the tub between his legs in front of him and leaned back with a sigh. "Feels good?"

"Uh huh," was all the red head could get out. Renji heard a low chuckle behind him and grinned. Just as he thought he'd doze off, he began to feel his mate's hands move up his torso. "Mmm...feels very goooood," he groaned.

"Good," Ichigo sounded amused. "Keep still and I'll wash you...ok?" he murmured as he began to soap a towel.

"Ok," the red head sighed as he felt the towel travel over his upper body. He could tell Ichigo was being careful over his injuries and he wanted to tell him not to bother, but he couldn't quite put the words together.

Ichigo smirked as he watched the red head relax in to him. He wanted his mate to forget about everything for a while. If he was lucky, he'd be able to turn Renji on before the other man realized what was happening and tensed up. He didn't want any weirdness about the other night to build up and cause problems.

He dipped the towel to massage around Renji's cock and sac and as his arousal began to awaken, the red head tried to sit up. "Shh, love. Let me finish," he said quietly as he continued to massage the sensitive area.

"That's fine, Ichi...you, um, don't need to," Renji was trying to stay coherent but it wasn't working very well.

"Sure I do," the orangette said hypnotically as he continued to move slowly. He gradually felt Renji relax again with a soft sigh. He also noticed his mate's erection continuing to grow. 'Good!' he thought as he slowly finished up.

"Love, we're all done," he spoke seductively in a deeper voice against Renji's neck as he began to nuzzle the sensitive area right below his ear. Renji tried to open his eyes as he let his head fall back onto Ichigo's shoulder.

He turned to look at the younger man, "What'd you do to me? I can't think straight."

"Nothing much, just tried to relax you," Ichigo shifted until he was standing and got out of the tub. He offered Renji his hand, "Now I want to take you to bed and finish the job."

"The job?" Renji asked as he got out and let his mate dry him off.

"Um hmm," Ichigo answered. "The job of loving you," he said softly as he wrapped his arms around his mate and nuzzled into his neck again with a gentle kiss. He pulled away and grabbed both Renji's hands, "Come on."

Renji smiled lazily. His mind was a bit fuzzy and he felt great. On one level he knew exactly what Ichigo was up to and he wanted to protest and back away but on the other hand, he really wanted to see where his lover was going with all of this attention. Ichigo rarely went soft and gentle...unless he wanted something, and Renji was more than willing to let him lead tonight. In fact he desperately **needed** him to take the lead.

Ichigo slowly backed him into the bedroom, their kisses turning heated, until Renji felt himself tumbling down onto the futon, followed quickly by the younger man. Ichigo pulled back enough to get a good look at Renji as he ran a hand over the tattooed chest. Even after five years, those tats still intrigued him. He had asked the red head once why he'd gotten them and his answer had been, "I didn't have much of a choice." After some pestering, Renji had finally admitted that he'd received them from Zabimaru. It was the zanpakuto's way of claiming Renji as his master and partner. No matter how many times Renji was injured in battle, the tattoos always remained smooth and undamaged as they flowed across his body.

Ichigo straddled his mate's thighs and let his hands follow the well-known path, across the red head's pectorals, down his arms and along his abdomen. At Renji's moan, Ichigo grinned and bent to lick at his mating mark. As he came in close he realized that this mark had changed. It was a bit larger and even more intricate. He mentally shrugged as he once again focused completely on pleasing his lover.

Renji arched into his touch as Ichigo finally gave the mating mark his proper attention. 'Damn this feels good!' was the red head's muddled thought. As Ichigo began to move down his body, all coherency vanished as he felt his arousal grow. By now Ichigo was playing with his erection; licking the head without actually taking it into his mouth. "Ichi...go..." Renji groaned as he tried to thrust up into the moist heat.

Ichigo pulled away, grinning, "Now, now Renji. Patience **is** a virtue. Besides, I want to draw this out for as long as possible," and he held his lover's hips still as he slowly inched his mouth down the other man's shaft. Renji gripped the bedding and threw his head back into the pillow as he moaned and panted in arousal and frustration.

When Ichigo was sure Renji was completely focused on what his mouth was doing, he adjusted his hands so he could prepare his mate. Renji never noticed the lubed finger slip inside him. In fact he didn't realize much until Ichigo was three fingers deep into him and the orangette nudged against his prostate. That sent him arching off the mattress and right down Ichigo's throat.

Ichigo backed off far enough to be able to breathe and continued to work his fingers inside Renji to stretch him. As he pulled off the red head's member and aligned himself to enter him, Ichigo began to mutter to him, "God, Renji, you're so delicious like this." The red head spread his legs even wider for Ichigo, who smiled a bit like a predator eyeing its prey, "Just like that, love," he groaned as he pulled Renji toward him and began to enter him. "Gods, yes! All spread out for me...so tight!...to take." As he seated himself, Renji wrapped his legs around Ichigo's waist and the younger man bent down, slightly pulling out as he did so.

"You wanna know what I like even better than this?" he asked as he quickly thrust back in causing Renji to gasp and sort of nod. Ichigo set a steady pace as he continued to whisper in his ear, "You, buried so deep inside me I can't tell where one of us ends and the other begins," he said matching his movements to his words. Ichigo concentrated on his angle so he could hit Renji's sweet spot consistently, "You causing me to come unglued with your words and gestures...fuck, **so** good...your movements."

Renji arched into him again as his body began to wind up for the finish while Ichigo continued to impale him. Ichigo continued with his thoughts, winding Renji up even further, "Watching you pump inside me, claiming me as yours...just like I'm doing to you now... Coming while you bury yourself balls deep into me...come for me, Renji," and as he did, Ichigo buried himself inside his mate. "Feeling you fill me up to overflowing," and he followed Renji over the edge, feeling himself empty into his lover. At that point words failed him and all he could do was feel and try to catch his breath as Renji tried to do the same.

The red head wrapped his arms around Ichigo securely and drew the younger man down onto his chest before pulling the covers up over their rapidly cooling bodies. He sighed in contentment as Ichigo got comfortable beside him and they drifted off into a peaceful sleep, tangled together.

* * *

Urahara chuckled as he noticed the other two men finally settle down. 'About time!' he thought as he snickered to himself.

As they fell asleep, the privacy Kidō failed and the blonde noticed a strange reiatsu. Frowning, Urahara quickly went to the boy's room and paused outside hesitating to enter and trying to sense the energy he'd noticed before. 'There it is,' he thought as he sensed the little flare again, dancing around inside the room. While he stood outside he realized just what he was sensing. As he walked away, he began to smile and then chuckle. By the time he reached his room again he was flat out laughing.

'I can hardly wait to see what's going to happen next!'

* * *

When Ichigo and Renji finally surfaced the next morning, they found Urahara sitting alone at the chabudai where they ate their meals, sipping his morning tea. As they entered, he raised his head to smile and waved them over to sit. "Good morning! Kurosaki-kun, Abarai-san please join me for some tea?" They nodded and sat down with him. "Tessai will bring out your breakfast shortly!" After he poured the tea for the two men, he whipped out his fan and sat back to watch them.

"So did you two have a good night? Hmm?" he asked playfully, quickly garnering a scowl from the younger of the two. He laughed, "Come on Kurosaki-kun, surely even you are capable of having a good night's sleep?" he continued in his playful manner.

Ichigo's face cleared somewhat and he sent the blonde a quiet grin. "I guess you could say I had a good night's sleep. At least I had a good dream last night."

"_**Oh**_? Do tell..." Urahara left off to see what the orangette would say. He was so excited, he could barely contain himself.

Ichigo's grin softened into a genuine smile without him noticing, "I was walking in a field, or maybe a park. Suddenly I was surrounded by a yellow and orange light. It was almost dancing around me." He glanced at Renji, "I felt so...happy. I almost wanted to join in and dance, too." He blushed as he finished and ducked his head to look into his tea cup.

The blonde's expression had fallen into a more natural smile as he listened to the younger man. He cleared his throat just as Tessai walked in and set down their breakfast plates. Both of the younger men nodded their thanks and began to dig in. After the large man had left, Urahara began again, but this time Renji interrupted.

"Urahara-san, could you tell me how we both ended up here? I understand why we've been here so long...but how did we actually get **here**?" he asked with a curious tilt to his head. Ichigo put down his chopsticks and looked at the blonde as he waited for the answer.

Urahara's fan came out again to hide his agitation as he answered, "Isshin, Love, and Hiyori brought Ichigo and the three Visored Captains as well as Bya-kun, Rukia-chan, and Kyouraku-san brought you when your reiatsu began to go out of control. Hachi came straight here to help Tessai with the Kidō wards. All the Visoreds knew you two had to be together and since Ichigo was on assignment here, it made sense to bring you to the living world, Renji.

"As to how you both ended up **here**, well...the Visoreds know my basement is a safe place to put beings with out of control reiatsu. It was the only logical place."

"So everyone h-heard...us?" Ichigo choked out as his blush rivaled Renji's hair.

"No," Urahara smirked, "my basement is thoroughly soundproofed. Once you two were downstairs and relatively safe, Shinji's group herded the Kuchiki's and the Sotaicho back to the Seireitei and Love and Hiyori left as well. Hachi and Isshin stayed until you were brought up here and then I was able to get your father to go home. Once Hachi and Tessai had finished healing you, Hachi left too."

Both of the younger men nodded as they quietly ate their breakfast. Once Ichigo was done, he sat back with a fresh cup of tea and asked, "What have you discovered about the Arrancar children? We've been here a week..." he trailed off with a frown. Suddenly he jumped up with an alarmed face.

"A week! We've been here a week," he glared at the other two men who were way too calm in his opinion. "Why haven't I gone into heat!?" At that Renji sat up straight and grabbed Ichigo's hand to pull him back down to him.

The blonde sighed. 'Finally!' he thought in exasperation. "I was wondering when you'd notice, Ichigo." He set his fan aside, "I believe you already went into it."

Ichigo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "What do you mean? I never felt it..." his voice trailed off as his brain caught up with the blonde's thinking. "You think I went into it early when our worlds joined, don't you?" he leaned forward.

Urahara removed his hat and looked at the two men with a satisfied sigh, "Yes I do, Ichigo. I'd like you to do something for me, ok?" At the orangette's nod he continued, "Focus a little reiatsu into the palm of your hand." Once Ichigo had done it he nodded and smiled, "Good. Now place it lightly over your abdomen and let it pulse." As Ichigo followed his instructions, some orange-yellow reiatsu flowed out from the young man's abdomen and twined around the white-blue of Ichigo's. The younger man laughed at the feeling.

"It tickles!" he grinned as he let his reiatsu play with the other.

"Now Renji, I want you to do the same thing," Urahara continued. "Draw your energy into your palm and hover it over Ichigo's abdomen." Renji began to look excited as he hurried to obey. Once his hand was in place the dual colored reiatsu danced and twined with his as well, causing him to grin with sheer enjoyment.

The blonde had one of the biggest smiles either of the other two had ever seen. "I hope I don't have to spell it out for you two?"

Ichigo looked up as they pulled their hands away and the other reiatsu settled back within himself. He took a deep breath and willed the tears that wanted to fall away, "It happened, didn't it? I'm pregnant."

* * *

**A/N: FINALLY! ^^**

**A ****c****habudai is the low table that everyone gathers around at Urahara's...at least that's what my research told me. :)**

**Also, just in case anyone wasn't clear: Renji is not able to get pregnant, only Ichigo can do that. However they both enjoy taking the lead in the bedroom and do so frequently. ;D**


End file.
